Soy-Ginger Baked Beans

I woke up craving some sort of hearty bean dish today, but I had just bought tofu at the store with plans on sauteeing it and serving it with an Asian-style dipping sauce.  How could I fit beans and the tofu dish together?  Insipiration hit when I thought I would do Asian-style baked beans.  I figured that ginger and soy would make nice flavor additions to a more traditional baked bean sauce. 

The problem is, I'd never even made regular baked beans, much less Asian-style.  But, I compiled a list of ingredients I thought sounded right and gave it a shot.  What the heck, right?  What I ended up with is the dish below.  It actually turned out great!  I'm thrilled.  It's a little sweeter than I normally would like baked beans, but I think that the extra sweetness helps counter the sharpness of the ginger. 

I used dried Eye of the Goat beans (my precious Rancho Gordo), and prepared them myself by boiling them as described below, but it would be fine to use canned beans instead to make the preparation time shorter -- just substitute water for the pot liquor, but be aware you may be losing some flavor there.

Soy-Ginger Baked Beans
1.5 c dried beans (*see below) (about 3c prepared beans)
2 Tbsp each: veggie oil and sesame oil
1/2 med sweet onion, diced
1 thumb ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 c ketchup
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 c soy sauce
dash chipotle powder (or other chile powder to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1 c reserved bean pot liquor, plus extra

In bean pot, casserole dish, or large cast iron pan, heat oils over a medium burner.  Cook onions until translucent; add ginger and garlic and cook one minute.  Stir in tomato paste.  Stir in remaining ingredients and mix well.  Stir in beans.  Add enough pot liquor to make a thin sauce.  Go easy on the salt as there is plenty in the soy sauce and the sauce will be condensed.

Cover pot with lid or foil and transfer to oven; bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes.  (Add a little more pot liquor if needed to thin out the sauce if it gets too thick as it cooks.)  Uncover beans and cook another 10-20 minutes or until desired doneness.  Enjoy!

*Prepare dry beans by soaking them for a few hours, and then boiling them with enough water to cover by a few inches, and some aromatics, such as carrot, onion, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorn, etc., in a cheesecloth.  Simmer beans gently until al dente.  Discard aromatics and drain beans, reserving pot liquor.