Hawaiian-style Skillet Beans

Perfect as a side for leftover holiday ham or as a super stand alone side dish

Hawaiian style skillet beans in clear glass bowl; made with regular size red beans and pineapple tidbits

I discovered this recipe in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook a few years ago. Sweet and smoky, it’s like baked beans without the long cooking time and with less sugar. It’s a flexible recipe with holiday flavors. After several tries, I’ve tweaked the recipe just right and now it’s a favorite, especially for serving with a holiday ham. With a smoked, cooked ham I cut off medium-size slices and heat them up in the skillet, with the beans, after the beans are done. Then I serve it with the saucy beans on top and a generous side of potatoes au gratin. But it is also outstanding served without any meat. It’s a perfect pairing with the rich and cheesy potatoes, too.

Skillet beans on the right side of plate, with potatoes au gratin on the left

 

This Hawaiian style dish calls for a specific - and delicious - sauce from Asian cuisine. For families managing peanut and/or treenut allergies, as well as egg allergies, Asian cuisine is pretty much off the table. Most commercial Asian restaurants and food producers utilize peanut oil for frying, peanuts and treenuts feature prominently in many dishes from appetizers thru desserts, there is egg drop soup and egg foo young, and with open kitchens there is very high risk for cross-contamination between dishes even if the allergens aren’t intended to be ingredients. My family no longer dines in or carries out. And finding safe items at the grocery store can be tricky. But for creative and not easily discouraged home cooks, there are still ways to deliver Asian flavors and keep it tasty and safe. It just requires dogged persistence while shopping and experimenting in the kitchen.

The key ingredient for these skillet beans is Hoisin Sauce, which is a thick and sweet addition to Asian dishes like barbecued ribs and Mu Shu fillings. If you can’t find a commercially prepared sauce, especially one that is allergy safe, you can concoct your own version. I have done this. The beans are still very tasty, just in a different way. This year I found a bottle at the grocery store with no peanut or treenut ingredients or “made in same facility” warnings; it contains soy and wheat and is made in a facility that processes milk, egg, fish and shellfish – definitely not an option that will work for everyone, depending on specific allergens, but works for us. Especially since my son is unlikely to eat this (although I offer a taste every year!) so the cross-contamination risk is very low for us. Every family has a different comfort level regarding this kind of risk. Due to unique history of reactions as well as doctors’ recommendations, there can be dramatic differences in individual food allergy plans and comprehensive scope of allergen avoidance. As always, read all labels carefully and contact manufacturers directly with questions – or talk to your child’s Allergist.

I cannot tell you how many bottle labels I’ve perused over the years when on the hunt for allergy friendly Asian-specific ingredients. Almost always I come out of the store empty handed. Which makes the rare successes all the sweeter. I once found a peanut-free, treenut-free, egg-free bottle of Fish sauce and did a happy dance in the grocery aisle. I use fish sauce once in a blue moon, but that day I was still really happy! Persistence will pay off, eventually. So my good-luck Chinese cookie fortune for you is this: “Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Dustyboo1080 posted "Fortune Cookie" on Fanpop.com, 2007

Look to the end of my recipe for suggestions on alternatives to commercial hoisin sauce. Reminder that my family size is small – feel free to double recipe as desired for bigger quantities. The same or two different kinds of beans can be used for bigger batches.

Skillet beans using Aduki beans on left side w/au gratin potatoes on right side

 

Hawaiian Style Skillet Beans

Adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home Cookbook, 1994

Ingredients:

Medium red onion, chopped finely

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups cooked beans or 1 can (15 oz) beans, drained & rinsed – Aduki red beans are ideal due to small size, but regular red beans will do nicely as well

1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple (or use canned, crushed or tidbit size pieces, drained)

2 Tbsp Hoisin sauce*

2 Tbsp Catsup (or tomato paste)

1 Tbsp Honey mustard

1 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce

1 Tbsp pineapple juice

1 Tbsp orange zest

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp sesame oil** or olive oil

Directions:

Chop your onion, set aside. If necessary, drain and rinse your beans.

In a small mixing bowl, measure out and combine the following ingredients to make sauce - pineapple pieces, Hoisin sauce, catsup, mustard, soy, pineapple juice, orange zest, cumin and oil. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and using medium heat sauté the onions until starting to brown. Add in beans and give a good stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in sauce and stir to coat beans and incorporate onions. Turn heat to low and simmer gently for several minutes to heat through.

(Meat option: If desired add in cooked ham slices to bring up to heat and serve beans on top of ham. Smoked ham is a great complement for these smoky, sweet, tangy beans. Vegetarian meat option: the Moosewood Collective suggests adding sliced Vegetarian hot dogs for a variation.)

*Hoisin Sauce Options:

-- Panos Brand (KA•ME All Natural Hoisin Sauce) is a commercial version with no peanut or treenut ingredients or warnings. However, it does include soy and wheat, as well as cross-contamination warnings for milk, egg, fish and shellfish. Contact manufacturer with specific questions before trying to see if this could be a safe option.

--For a quick alternate version that is good in a pinch, combine 1 Tbsp molasses with 1 Tbsp white vinegar, and a teaspoon of hot pepper sauce. (This is the version I’ve used before.)

--For a more adventurous version, closer to the original, start here with this gluten-free recipe. It calls for regular blackbeans that you mash into a paste yourself, or you could look for commercial “bean paste.” Consider McCormick’s brand for Chinese 5 Spice powder; I’ve called them regarding other spices and find them allergy-friendly with accurate labeling practices, although I haven’t inquired about this blend in particular. The sesame paste (tahini) can be made in a food processor with toasted seeds and oil, if not available commercially. I’m not familiar with Sriracha sauce, but it sounds like a straight forward hot pepper sauce – so use whichever brand is safe for the allergens you’re avoiding. I haven’t tried this recipe myself, so feel free to tell me in the comments if you give it a go.

**NOTE: Sesame Oil can be quite the challenge to find when avoiding peanut, treenut, soy and fish allergies. It is also dearly priced. If you can afford it and can find an allergen-free version, go with the darkest variety you can find. If you don’t wish to splurge or can’t find an allergen free version, just use a bit of olive or vegetable oil instead. It’s not a critical ingredient here, just a flavor enhancer.

ALLERGENS: Soy, Sesame, possible wheat in soy and/or hoisin sauces if using commercially made

ALLERGY ACCOMMODATIONS: Use gluten-free soy sauce, omit sesame oil, make your own hoisin sauce