Soy-Ginger Bean, Mushroom & Potato Pot

Ingredients

• — All in —
• 460 g drained canned beans, drained and weighed after draining
• ½ onion (about 60 g), sliced
• 60 g chestnut mushrooms, cut in half, or into quarters if large
• ½ potato (about 70 g), peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
• 6 g ginger, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• 1½ tsp dried shiitake, soaked until soft, soaking water kept
• 1½ tsp rice wine (Shaoxing), spooned
• 6 tbsp water, poured from a measuring jug
• 1 tbsp + 1¼ tsp soy sauce, stirred, then spooned
• 1¼ tsp sugar, spooned level
• — Add after the timer —
• 60 g leafy garden greens, torn or roughly chopped; thick stems split lengthways
• — Finish up —
• 1¼ tsp sesame oil, spooned

Method

1. Pour the rice wine and water into the cold 1.6 L container first — a wet base cannot catch. Then everything except leafy greens and sesame oil: drained canned beans, onion, chestnut mushrooms, potato, ginger, garlic, dried shiitake, soy sauce and sugar. Give it all a good stir and level it. Cooking lid on loose.
2. Set the heat once: very gentle — about 4 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 1 on a portable hob; slow-cooker territory (see Heat below) — and set a timer for 53 minutes. On a plug-in portable hob, level 1 runs gentler on this pot — set the timer for 78 minutes there instead. Constant watching is not needed, but an occasional stir keeps anything from catching on the base — especially if you ever smell burning. Alternatively, if time is pressed: bring it to the boil on a higher heat — about 6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob — stirring now and then; that takes about 14–23 minutes. As soon as it boils, turn it back down to the gentle setting and set a timer for 21 minutes: about 34–44 minutes in all instead of 53. Do not leave it on the higher heat once it is boiling.
3. When the timer goes off: stir in the leafy greens. Set a timer for 3 minutes.
4. When it goes off, check: the potato is soft, the mushrooms are tender and the beans are hot through. Not there yet? Cooking lid back on loose; set a timer for 5 more minutes and check again.
5. Off the heat: stir in the sesame oil. Rest for 2 minutes, then serve from the container.
6. To reheat from the fridge: storage lid off, cooking lid on loose, add 30 ml water if the sauce has set firm, and use a gentle-to-medium heat — about 4–6 of 9 on a fitted induction hob, level 2 on a portable hob. Set a timer for 11 minutes; stir, then give it 7 minutes more until it is bubbling all over and piping hot right through. From frozen: add 50 ml water around the block, cooking lid on loose, use the same gentle heat for 24 minutes; loosen and stir, then give it 15 minutes more until bubbling all over and piping hot right through.