Seasonal vegetables stir-fried with Tripuri fermented soybean paste — an everyday umami-forward preparation using the traditional fermented seasoning of the Tripuri kitchen.
Ingredients
3 cups mixed seasonal vegetables — any combination of: water spinach (kangkong), flat beans, brinjal (eggplant), pumpkin, bitter gourd — cut to similar sizes
2 tbsp fermented soybean paste (akhuni or hawai jaang — the Tripuri fermented soybean; available at North-East Indian stores; substitute with 1 tbsp Chinese black bean paste if unavailable)
3 garlic cloves — finely chopped
2 green chillies — finely chopped
1 tsp ginger — grated
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste — add only after tasting, fermented soybean is very salty
Method
Cut all vegetables to a similar size for even cooking.
Cut harder vegetables (pumpkin, bitter gourd, brinjal) into 2 cm pieces. Leave softer greens like water spinach roughly torn.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan or wok on medium-high heat.
Add garlic and ginger. Fry 30 seconds until fragrant but not brown.
Add the fermented soybean paste. Fry on medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring, until the paste cooks slightly and the aroma deepens from sharp and pungent to a more integrated, complex umami depth.
Add green chillies. Stir 30 seconds.
Add the harder vegetables first. Toss. Cook on high heat 3 minutes.
Add the softer vegetables. Toss. Cook on high heat 3 to 4 minutes until all vegetables are cooked through.
Tripuri cooking keeps vegetables with slight bite — not mushy and overcooked.
Taste before adding salt — the fermented soybean is very salty and additional salt may not be needed.