Where To Buy Pinto Beans?

[sceadugenga]

looks like the difference between success and failure with dried beans has to do with where the beans are purchased...has anyone been successful with dried beans bought from tescos?...they are cheap and maybe have been sittin' there on the shelf for yonks. Any product purchased from a falang oriented supermarket is gonna be at least twice as expensive but maybe 'fresher' (as in under a year old for beans) and more likely to yield to clumsy falang cooking efforts...

raises the question: what do thais do with beans that don't cook thoroughly?...somebody must buy beans from tescos...

btw, here in Jeddah they got 4-5 different kinds of western canned frijoles...even in supermarkets that don't cater to westerners. The arabs like beans too...foul medames that you can also buy mashed up in cans like frijoles...they taste good with fresh arabic bread...

I had to do a quick search on that Toots.... "foul medames" sounded like the manageress of a certain den of iniquity near Soi Cowboy I used to frequent.

[tutsiwarrior]

looks like the difference between success and failure with dried beans has to do with where the beans are purchased...has anyone been successful with dried beans bought from tescos?...they are cheap and maybe have been sittin' there on the shelf for yonks. Any product purchased from a falang oriented supermarket is gonna be at least twice as expensive but maybe 'fresher' (as in under a year old for beans) and more likely to yield to clumsy falang cooking efforts...

raises the question: what do thais do with beans that don't cook thoroughly?...somebody must buy beans from tescos...

btw, here in Jeddah they got 4-5 different kinds of western canned frijoles...even in supermarkets that don't cater to westerners. The arabs like beans too...foul medames that you can also buy mashed up in cans like frijoles...they taste good with fresh arabic bread...

I had to do a quick search on that Toots.... "foul medames" sounded like the manageress of a certain den of iniquity near Soi Cowboy I used to frequent.

well, ye know, dem arabs wid dey "insh'allah" an' dey "alsalaamoelaikum" folks can't hardly unnerstand 'em...

for those frustrated falang that can't find frijoles in the falang supermarkets go down to suk soi 3 an' look for 'strained foul medames' an' fresh arabic bread (it be flat like tortillas)...pour yourself a beer an' gobble up dem beans wid de bread jus' like frijoles an' tortillas an' pretend yer inna all night cafe on Broadway in downtown LA wid de real thing...

a lot about livin' in Thailand is pretendin' yer somewhere's else...

[rice555]

Hello All, to change the topic a bit, which verity of bean 'seed' would you grow to make your on frijoles if could not buy caned or dried beans here?

I've been looking through the Native Seeds Catalog.

What's your choice?

This the bean link, if it doesn't work, try the second.

Thanks, rice555

http://www.nativeseeds.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_14_41

http://www.nativeseeds.org/

[JR Texas]

Hello All, to change the topic a bit, which verity of bean 'seed' would you grow to make your on frijoles if could not buy caned or dried beans here?

I've been looking through the Native Seeds Catalog.

What's your choice?

This the bean link, if it doesn't work, try the second.

Thanks, rice555

http://www.nativeseeds.org/catalog/index.php?cPath=1_14_41

http://www.nativeseeds.org/

Beans in Thailand are horrible......especially the black beans that some "Mexican restaurants/food chains" are using.

Try pinto beans..........that is what you need to make frijoles.

I am growing them in my front yard right now...........they love "din dam" or black dirt, sunshine and water. They grow fast.

[rice555]

Hello JR Texas, thanks for the reply, sorry for my mistake, pinto beans was a given. I should have asked "which verity" of pinto beans would be best, that was why the link<s> was given, to narrow down which verity would be above average. They do have a large selection of pinto beans, more than most seed co's.

rice555

[JR Texas]

Hello JR Texas, thanks for the reply, sorry for my mistake, pinto beans was a given. I should have asked "which verity" of pinto beans would be best, that was why the link<s> was given, to narrow down which verity would be above average. They do have a large selection of pinto beans, more than most seed co's.

rice555

In terms of taste, I think virtually any standard variety of pinto bean will do. The varieties are likely important in terms of ability to grow here in Southeast Asia, but not in terms of taste.

Good luck if you are going to open a Mexican restaurant.........and please don't do what people are doing now.........do it the right way. THE TEX-MEX WAY.........

[tutsiwarrior]

Hello JR Texas, thanks for the reply, sorry for my mistake, pinto beans was a given. I should have asked "which verity" of pinto beans would be best, that was why the link<s> was given, to narrow down which verity would be above average. They do have a large selection of pinto beans, more than most seed co's.

rice555

In terms of taste, I think virtually any standard variety of pinto bean will do. The varieties are likely important in terms of ability to grow here in Southeast Asia, but not in terms of taste.

Good luck if you are going to open a Mexican restaurant.........and please don't do what people are doing now.........do it the right way. THE TEX-MEX WAY.........

listen JR...us folks in East LA got our pride, ye know...we're just gonna hafta come over there an' 'low ride' all over yer beans...

[rice555]

Hello tutsiwarrior, thanks for the reply. Yes the timing of growing things here is very important, but other beans(US) have grown quite nicely for me in Korat.

I grew up around and eating Mexican food in San Jose, but the order was always 'rice, no beans'.

They don't have a plain jane pinto in the catalog I listed, and other catalogs that I use are short on pintos, I was trying to order from only one source, saves shipping costs.

rice555

[tutsiwarrior]

Hello tutsiwarrior, thanks for the reply. Yes the timing of growing things here is very important, but other beans(US) have grown quite nicely for me in Korat.

I grew up around and eating Mexican food in San Jose, but the order was always 'rice, no beans'.

They don't have a plain jane pinto in the catalog I listed, and other catalogs that I use are short on pintos, I was trying to order from only one source, saves shipping costs.

rice555

yahs, yahs...I remember San Jose well...useta get some mighty fine tamales made fresh an' sold from a cart outside of a liquor store...sittin' in the parking lot wid two tamales and a large bud...could not be beat.

These days in Thailand I live inna shophouse so's not too much room fer growin' beans. I useta do a dynamite number wid tomatoes, green beans an' squash when I lived in Richmond...had some nice salad greens as well. These days, well, you know the rest...

all the best an' happy farming...

[JR Texas]

Hello tutsiwarrior, thanks for the reply. Yes the timing of growing things here is very important, but other beans(US) have grown quite nicely for me in Korat.

I grew up around and eating Mexican food in San Jose, but the order was always 'rice, no beans'.

They don't have a plain jane pinto in the catalog I listed, and other catalogs that I use are short on pintos, I was trying to order from only one source, saves shipping costs.

rice555

yahs, yahs...I remember San Jose well...useta get some mighty fine tamales made fresh an' sold from a cart outside of a liquor store...sittin' in the parking lot wid two tamales and a large bud...could not be beat.

These days in Thailand I live inna shophouse so's not too much room fer growin' beans. I useta do a dynamite number wid tomatoes, green beans an' squash when I lived in Richmond...had some nice salad greens as well. These days, well, you know the rest...

all the best an' happy farming...

For the record: I grew up and lived most of my life in Texas......been all over Mexico, Central America, S. America.........lived in California and did eat some great Mexican food there (but I avoided the Calif-Mex), and lived and worked in the Middle East.......stating the last thing because I remember those "beans" that were similar to frijoles.......would purchase the nice bread at the market and stuff it with cheese and the beans and dream of real Mexican food. If you are in harms way Tutsiwarrier, I wish you lots of luck.

[dotcom]

I'm midway thru the preparation process of my first homemade batch in Thailand....

I first soaked the pinto beans from about 1 pm one day until about 10 am the next morning, then I plunked them into my "smart" electronic controlled rice cooker, covered with a lot of water. Ran the rice cooker cook cycle once, and it took a LONG time, much longer than if I was preparing rice, maybe double or more. But when the first cycle was done, almost all the water from the beans in the pot was gone and the remaining beans were very soft and tender after just one cooking cycle. Didn't need the second one. But again, that was with a "smart logic" style rice cooker.

Tomorrow is the stove cooking, spice adding, mashing and final preparation.

A pressure cooker will cook pintos even faster. Takes practice to judge the amount of water you need. Don't let em run dry.

[tutsiwarrior]

Hello tutsiwarrior, thanks for the reply. Yes the timing of growing things here is very important, but other beans(US) have grown quite nicely for me in Korat.

I grew up around and eating Mexican food in San Jose, but the order was always 'rice, no beans'.

They don't have a plain jane pinto in the catalog I listed, and other catalogs that I use are short on pintos, I was trying to order from only one source, saves shipping costs.

rice555

yahs, yahs...I remember San Jose well...useta get some mighty fine tamales made fresh an' sold from a cart outside of a liquor store...sittin' in the parking lot wid two tamales and a large bud...could not be beat.

These days in Thailand I live inna shophouse so's not too much room fer growin' beans. I useta do a dynamite number wid tomatoes, green beans an' squash when I lived in Richmond...had some nice salad greens as well. These days, well, you know the rest...

all the best an' happy farming...

For the record: I grew up and lived most of my life in Texas......been all over Mexico, Central America, S. America.........lived in California and did eat some great Mexican food there (but I avoided the Calif-Mex), and lived and worked in the Middle East.......stating the last thing because I remember those "beans" that were similar to frijoles.......would purchase the nice bread at the market and stuff it with cheese and the beans and dream of real Mexican food. If you are in harms way Tutsiwarrier, I wish you lots of luck.

thanks for your concern, JR...I'm just doin' what every other westerner does in Saudi: makin' money. The food ain't bad hereabouts...dynamite shawarma and falafel sandwiches (gotta love them chick peas ). The worse thing is having to drive anywhere, as anyone that has lived in the Middle East knows, even driving to the supermarket is a deadly ordeal, the people on the roads here are more dangerous than any crazy-assed jihadi...

stay cool...

Edited March 5, 2009 by tutsiwarrior