updated Beans of the Gods

[sistawendy]

I've been making my Beans of the Gods weekly for lunch for years since even before the pandemic, but I had reason to update the recipe: I ran out of hot sauce a couple of weeks ago, in my case Sriracha. So here's the new recipe, at least as good as the old one:

2 cups dry black beans
1 1/2 quarts water
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup vinegar
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
1 tbsp. toasted sesame oil

1. Wash and pick over the beans, then soak them overnight in the water.
2. Mix the vinegar and the chili powder thoroughly at least three hours in advance of cooking.
3. Add the chili powder & vinegar mixture, garlic, and sesame oil to the beans and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally. You may need to add water eventually.

Notes:

1. The lowest setting on my stove's double ring burner – my favorite – is probably hotter than the low setting on most burners.
2. The vinegar, which I remembered from Sriracha's ingredient list, appears to be essential to making the beans tender instead of crunchy.
3. I was using chili powder that's waaay past its pull date. You may get away with less, or I may like fresher stuff even more.