Adzukiaduki Red Bean Paste Food

HOW TO MAKE RED BEAN PASTE

Steps:

• Combine red beans and 3 cups of water in pressure cooker. Lock the lid and heat over medium high heat until rated pressure has been reached. Turn to lowest heat and cook at high pressure for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow the pressure release naturally.
• Remove the lid and stir the beans several times. Add rock sugar and turn back to medium high heat. Stir the beans constantly with a spatula and boil until the mixture has thickened. When you draw a line in the mixture with a spatula and can see the bottom of the pot for 1 or 2 seconds, the beans are finished. Remove from heat and transfer to a large bowl. The red bean "soup" is, at this point, still a thick liquid and not quite as thick as a paste. It will thicken quickly after cooking down, and transform into a paste after it has been chilled.
• The paste will last about a week in an airtight container in the fridge, or about a month in the freezer.
• Rinse azuki beans and pre-soak them in room temperature water overnight.
• Discard the soaking water. Combine beans and 4 cups water in a large pot. Bring the water to a boil, then turn to lowest heat. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, until beans are soft and can be easily mashed with a spatula. Throughout the simmering, check the water level and make sure the water still covers the beans, so they won't be burnt on the bottom. Add water in small amounts, if necessary. Stir beans gently (without mashing them), occasionally during simmering.
• Follow steps 2 and 3 above to complete the paste.

ANKO (SWEET RED BEAN PASTE)

Steps:

• Place beans in a saucepan and cover with 2 cups water; bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and discard water.
• Place drained beans in a clean saucepan and cover with 2 to 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the saucepan, and simmer, adding more water as needed, until beans are soft and can be crushed between your fingers, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain beans and discard water.
• Stir beans and sugar together in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and beans form a loose, shiny paste, about 10 minutes. Immediately transfer the paste to a container to cool. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

SWEET RED BEAN PASTE (TSUBUAN AND KOSHIAN)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients.
• Rinse the azuki beans and discard any broken beans.
• Transfer the drained azuki beans to a large pot. Add enough water to the pot so the beans are covered by 1-2 inches.
• Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Once boiling, drain the beans in a fine-mesh sieve. Return the beans to the same pot.
• Next, add more water to the pot so the beans are covered by 1-2 inches.
• Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, put an otoshibuta (drop lid) over the beans. (The otoshibuta will prevent the beans from dancing around too much.) Turn down the heat to medium low and keep it simmering for the next 1 to 1½ hours.
• Some of the water will evaporate, so add more water to keep the beans submerged, as needed. After 1 hour, check if the beans are cooked. Pick up a bean and mash it with your fingers. When it mashes easily, it's done.

ADZUKI/ADUKI RED BEAN PASTE

Steps:

• Measure out about 1 dry cup of dried adzuki beans. You will probably have leftover, adzuki beans definitely multiply when cooked. Soak the beans overnight.
• Next day, bring about 4-5 cups of water to a boil, then let the beans simmer for 35-40 minutes or until soft, with the pot lid loosely covered.
• Drain the beans, and measure out 2 cups now that they're cooked. (Save the leftover beans for veggie burger or roasting purposes, or other adzuki confections!).
• Put the cooked beans and 1 1/2 cups of sugar plus a little water into a food processor and puree it until there are almost no more bean pieces left.
• Pour the paste into a colander fitted over a large bowl, and let strain overnight (at least 6-8 hours.).
• When it's all done straining the next day, there should be a lot of liquid in the bottom of the bowl and the paste inside the colander should be nice and thick. It's ready for use now! It can be refridgerated for up to a week, then frozen for a few months for future use.

SWEETENED RED BEAN PASTE

Steps:

• Rinse the beans, put them in a bowl, and cover them with 1 inch of water. Discard any floaters. Let the beans soak for 6 to 9 hours.
• Drain the beans and put them in a small saucepan. Add water to cover by 2 inches and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to gently simmer for about 1 1/4 hours, or until the beans are very soft. Some will split open. Press on one, and it should crush easily with little pressure. Remove from the heat and drain in a mesh strainer; let drain for 5 minutes to remove excess moisture. Wash the saucepan.
• Combine the beans and the white and brown sugars in a food processor. Puree into a smooth chocolate-brown mixture, pausing to scrape down the sides if necessary.
• Combine the oil and pureed beans in the saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir frequently for about 5 minutes, or until the beans have pulled away from the sides of the pan and thickened into a soft paste. The paste will darken as it cooks and dries out.
• Transfer the paste to a bowl and set aside at room temperature to cool completely. To prevent drying and promote even cooling, occasionally stir the paste as it sits and thickens. Use the paste after cooling. Refrigerate it for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.