Smoked-Tea Chili (HCEV)

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chili powder (Neglected to make my own [That stuff in the store is full of salt and never quite as good. This goes for any spice mixes.] so I used straight-up ground chipotle.)
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar or 3 tablespoons molasses (Haven't yet found a good reason yet to buy the latter)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 5-6 cups freshly brewed Lapsang Souchong or any smoked black tea (Bought this at Tealuxe)
• 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (Damn, forgot to get this and I'm not truly sure where in the city I can find them in the first place. Blog followers, help me out.)
• 1 pound dried soybeans, washed, picked over, and soaked if you like (I never really bother to soak.)
  

Mise en place.


Cook the onion until soft and the garlic until aromatic.


Cooking beans until tender. I probably wound up a bit under done though they seemed fine at the time.


For an unassuming looking dish, it smells fantastic. I was worried about the heat of the dish when I tasted a bean at the halfway mark, but it certainly mellowed out to something tolerable.
I loved playing with Lapsang Souchong in this dish though it was hard to detect under the heat.