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Spicy Black Beans

A quick sautéed side of black beans flavored with chile oil, vegetable oil, salt, pepper, vinegar, soy sauce, and minced Thai bird chile.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Beans and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,017 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Spicy Black Beans

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat both oils in a large skillet over medium‑high heat.

  2. Add all remaining ingredients and toss; cook just until heated through.

  3. Serve immediately as a side dish, or cool slightly and serve as a salad.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

251Calories
9 gProtein
14 gFat
23 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Black Bean1/2 cup canned (120g) drained114
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Beans + ricetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,017 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  2. Beans + peppertop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,733 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Pepper + ricetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together8,379 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  4. Pepper + vinegartop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together27,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  5. Beans + saucetop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,184 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Black beans
Provide the bulk and soft, starchy texture that forms the body of the dish.
Chile oil
Carries heat and aroma through the beans as it warms in the hot oil.
Vegetable oil
Conducts heat in the skillet and adds richness that helps coat the beans.
Rice vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the flavor and balances the oils and salt.

The step that matters

Cook just until heated through. Beans are already cooked, so extra time in the hot skillet can make them mushy and dry out. Heating only until warm keeps their texture intact and preserves the bright flavor of the vinegar and chile.

Swap the beans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, rice, vinegar, sauce):

  1. Sesamefits about as well
  2. Black-eyed peafits about as well
  3. Beansthe original
  4. Soybeanfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, rice, vinegar, sauce. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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