I was eager to try lamb. And the recipe looked pretty easy, perfect for a weeknight dinner. Bryan doesn’t like peppers, but it was an easy substitution of green beans. Although, when I was at the store they had the worst looking green beans I’ve ever encountered in my life, but being lazy, I went ahead and got them instead of going to Easy Way down the street.
I hadn’t heard of fermented black beans before and couldn’t find any further information on them in the book. I checked the short “ethnic” food aisle at the grocery and didn’t find anything, so I went with a can of regular black beans. Later I looked it up online. Apparently my grocery does not have a “quality” ethnic food aisle. Oh well.
My grocery store also did not have the right cut of lamb. And after a brief discussion with the butcher, if you can call her that, I discovered that lamb is very expensive. I’m not made of money, Mr. Bittman. So I went home, made Bryan take me to dinner, and went to the grocery the next day with an alternative meat in mind. So I purchased some sirloin and went home.
Basically this whole meal was a big failure and I shouldn’t even post that I tried it. All major ingredients were different or wrong. Oh well. We all learn from our mistakes. Today’s lesson: too many substitutions make for a different recipe entirely, as well as don’t buy shady green beans.
Fermented black bean is actually a fermented soy bean. It tastes like soy sauce but more bitter. It is used to cut through strong smelling proteins like fish and clams. I guess lamb is in the same category and I never eat it. If you want to cook with FBB, look for a jar of black bean sauce made by Lee Kum Kee as a sub. If can't find it, don't bother.Paul.
ReplyDelete