Hello!
Do you know Wagashi (Japanese Sweet)? They are getting popular overseas now specially in Europe.
This recipe is for making Anko which is a sweet paste made from Adzuki beans. It’s the most important ingredient for Wagashi.
I’ll teach you how to make perfect Anko step-by-step and help you figure out why if your Adzuki is hard not soft. I have been cooking Adzuki for long time but sometimes even I fail so I have been trying to figure out the problems.
What was problems?
Adzuki didn’t get soft no matter how long they were cooked. I thought the beans could have been old and got fresh ones from an organic shop but still the same thing happened. I tried other people recipes and cooking methods but that didn’t fix it. So, I research about Adzuki beans and I found a very interesting fact. Other beans soak moisture in through the skin, but not Adzuki beans. So, where how do Adzuki beans soak in moisture? The answer is the small white strip along the length of each bean. (see the photo).
When you want to cook most beans, you will need to soak them for a day before, but you don’t need to soak Adzuki beans because the white strip is very sensitive to temperature and Adzuki doesn’t like cold water. So, when you wash Adzuki beans I wash them with warm water and when you cook Adzuki beans, add Adzuki beans to already boiling water then reduce the heat.
Process for cooking Adzuki beans.
- Wash Adzuki beans with warm water.
- First cook Adzuki beans with boiling water.
- Cook the Adzuki beans until soft compared to raw Adzuki and swell to twice their size (see the photo).
- Once Adzuki beans are soft, strain the beans.
- Boil water again and add the Adzuki beans then reduce heat and simmer until you can easily crush the Adzuki beans with your finger.
- Add sugar and cook until moisture is gone
- Put Anko (Adzuki beans sweet paste) on a tray to cool down.
More information sees the recipe ↓
Sweet Adzuki beans Paste
Ingredients
- 100 g Adzuki beans
- 100 g Sugar
You will need enough water to cover the Azuki beans while you are cooking them. IF you need to add more water use hot not cold water.
Instructions
- Wash 100g of Adzuki beans with warm water and remove any chipped Adzuki beans.
- Bring 400-500ml of water to the boil in a pot and add the Adzuki beans. Reduce heat to between to mid and low.
- Cook until the Adzuki beans until soft. If you need add water while cooking the Adzuki beans, use warm water not cold water. (Adzuki beans are sensitive to cold temperatures).
- Strain the Adzuki beans.
- Again, bring 400-500ml of water to the boil in a pot and add the Adzuki beans. Reduce heat to between to mid and low. Cook until soft (you can easily crush the beans with your finger). If you need add water, please add warm water.
- If still lots of water in the pot, strain the water. Once the Adzuki beans are soft strain the water. Add 100g of sugar and turn heat to mid heat. Stir continuously until the moisture is gone.
- Once moisture is gone, put the Adzuki beans onto a tray to cool down.
Video
Some recipe said when finishing cooking Anko, add salt, yes you can but the Anko won’t last as long. If you don’t use your Anko straight away you can freeze it for use later.
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