black bean² chili

a deep, dark jajangmyeon-inspired chili with black beans and black bean paste

i’m sure i’m not the only one to have noticed the recent spike in cooking content focused around using what you already have. i’m on board with it, both as an effort to keep costs low in a time when they’re rising and as a sort of love letter to digging through the depths of your pantry (or fridge) to use things up before they can’t be used at all.

so when i published a remake of one of my favorite recipes ever last month—my spicy mushroom ragu, which was first published as shepherd’s pie base and most recently made into lasagna—i was spending a lot of time thinking about how to reuse any leftover ingredients needed to make it. this isn’t a novel thought; i often think about this when developing recipes, and do my best to offer links or suggestions to other ways to use specialty ingredients in a larger variety of recipes. sometimes however, there aren’t a lot of options i can give, and chungjang—the korean black bean paste i use as the base of my mushroom ragu—is a perfect example.

chungjang is a salty fermented soybean paste used in chinese and korean-chinese cooking that goes by many names: sweet bean sauce, sweet flour sauce, sweet wheat paste, tianmian sauce, black bean paste. it’s a thick, dark brown or black sauce with a subtly sweet and savory flavor. i first started with cooking with it when i learned to make jajangmyeon, a korean-chinese noodle dish. when i began looking further into chunjang’s traditional uses, i found it was almost exclusively used to make jajangmyeon (or some variation on it) or as a condiment. that meant i was basically subjecting—and thereby forcing you to subject—our big jars of chunjang to sit in cold purgatory at the back the fridge until the urge to make one of those tiny handful of dishes came up again, likely months later.

so earlier this year, as i was cleaning out my pantry and fridge with my mind hyper-focused on finding a new use for the black bean paste, i came across half a bag of black beans and came up with the idea of putting the two together. i drew inspiration from both jajangmyeon and the ragu i developed to make a rich, deep and dark pork belly, black bean paste and black bean chili. black bean squared, get it? the results were better than expected, and although it feels small, i do feel better that i can now offer even this one additional use for korean black bean paste.

the flavor of the black bean paste is definitely a background note because it’s by nature relatively mild, but i think the rich color is well worth its use here and the sweetness plays well with the tomatoes and richness of the pork. i made this chili three times within the span of about 10 days and am happy to report that i didn’t get sick of it and, in fact, i might even make it again this week.

i’ve served it with and without the various suggested toppings and sides, but would say a slightly sweet, plush cornbread (this is the recipe i use, don’t judge me), cheddar cheese, and sour cream is my favorite combo.

if i was going to make this vegetarian, i would simply add another can of beans—maybe kidney or white beans—instead of swapping the meat out with anything, but then again smoked tofu could be a nice option, so you do you!

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this time two years ago:

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jajang chili aka black bean² chili

serves 4

1 large white or yellow onion

2 small potatoes (about 200 grams)

1 red bell pepper (about 200 grams)

3 cloves garlic

2 scallions

300 grams pork belly (substitute: ground pork)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tablespoon gochugaru (substitute: red chili flakes)

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (substitute: 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

75 grams chunjang

2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo (substitute: your favorite hot sauce)

2 400 gram cans black beans (substitute: 600 grams cooked, dried black beans)

1 400 gram can whole cherry tomatoes (substitute: 1 can crushed tomatoes)

1 can (400 ml) water

to serve, all optional: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, pickled jalapenos, hot sauce (i like tabasco here), and cornbread, tortilla chips or crushed ramen noodles

1. peel 1 large onion and chop. chop 2 small potatoes and core and chop 1 red bell pepper. for all of these vegetables, aim for a bean sized chop, so slightly smaller than bite-size. peel and mince 3 cloves garlic. thinly slice 2 scallions, reserving the greens for garnish in a separate small bowl if desired. chop 300 grams pork belly, again into bean-sized pieces; if yours has skin on it, you can remove it if you’d like, otherwise leave it on.

2. add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to a large pot or dutch oven and heat over medium heat. once the oil is hot, add the pork belly, season with salt, and fry until cooked thorough, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. remove to a separate bowl.

3. drain some of the grease if desired, then add onion, potato, garlic and bell pepper. let cook for about 5 minutes, then add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper and 1/2 tablespoon gochugaru, stirring to combine and coat the vegetables. after about 1 minute, move the vegetables to the side so you have a well in the center. add 75 grams chunjang and 2 tablespoons chipotles in adobo to the well and fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

4. mix everything together, then add 2 cans black beans, 1 can whole cherry tomatoes and 1 can of water and stir to combine. turn the heat to high and bring the mixture up to a simmer, stirring occasionally. add the pork belly back to the pot and let simmer until the chili is thickened, slightly reduced and the potatoes are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

5. ladle the chili into serving bowls. top as desired with shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, pickled jalapenos and the reserved scallion greens. serve with cornbread, tortilla chips or crushed ramen noodles, if desired.