Thoughts on beans and other legumes

When I was growing up, my family always had real Chinese soy sauce. It might have been the only true remnant of our not-so-distant Chinese ancestry. I am not sure who, but someone would travel to Mexico City and buy it from the Chinese market. So it never occurred to me that there would be anything different until we moved to the US and all that was available was Kikkoman soy sauce. This type of soy sauce was watery, milder, and had a funny taste. At the time I thought that it had to do with commercialization and price. Real Chinese soy sauce was obviously much better, so how come all the Chinese restaurants served Kikkoman?

In reading for this lesson, I came to the conclusion that the Kikkoman soy sauce is indeed made after the Japanese soy sauce model which includes a mixture of soybeans and wheat. I grew up on Chinese soy sauce made solely from soybeans, so my palate appreciated the difference. I often wonder whether Americans are afraid of robust flavor because most "ethnic" foods available tend to be milder than the original. Funny enough, my parents never conceded to the Japanese style, and since have found a store in Atlanta that sells real Chinese soy sauce.

On a different, though slightly related note, growing up I never conceived the idea of eating beans from a can. Mexicans are known for eating beans, therefore, Mexicans cook beans. They have these big pots made out of clay in which traditionally beans are cooked. I ought to get one the next time I travel down there. My mom still makes really good beans even without the pot. Before I moved out, I asked my mom to show me how to make some of my favorite dishes. She never said how tricky it was to cook beans. She simply told me to pre-soak and cook on low for a couple of hours. Well, my first attempts turned out to be a mess of gigantic, undercooked beans. I guess my mom did not account for the change in altitude. So after many years of somewhat eradicating my Mexican diet, maybe I should give beans another try. After all, one  really just needs to pre-soak and cook on low for a few hours...