Cookbook:Red Bean Paste
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| Red Bean Paste | |
|---|---|
| Category: | Bean recipes |
| Servings: | 500ml |
| Time: | soaking: 4 hours+ boiling: 1½-2 hours making: 15 mins |
| Difficulty: |  |
Cookbook | Recipes | Vegetables | Beans | Chinese Cuisine
Red bean paste (in Chinese: 红豆沙, or hóngdòushā, meaning "red bean sand", due to it texture) is a sweet paste used for many things in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisine. It is made from mashed adzuki beans (known as red beans in Chinese), mixed with sugar.
A range of texture from coarse and gritty to fine and smooth is possible. For a coarse paste, boil the beans for less time and mash by hand. For a fine paste, boil for longer and use a blender to mash the beans.
75ml sounds like a lot of oil, but it is required to drive out the water properly.
[edit] Ingredients
- 200ml dried adzuki beans
- Water as needed for soaking and boiling
- 150ml sugar
- 75ml vegetable or peanut oil for frying
[edit] Procedure
- Wash the beans, checking for and removing any that are damaged or diseased. Soak the beans in cold water for at least 4 hours or, preferably, overnight. This softens the beans slightly and reduces the cooking time greatly.
- Drain the beans and rinse once soaked.
- Place into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil.
- Simmer the beans for 1½-2 hours, until soft and disintegrating slightly. Longer boiling will result in a smoother paste. Remember to top up the water occasionally so the beans don't boil dry and burn.
- Drain away the water.
- Depending on the desired texture, mash the beans by hand (coarse) or in a blender (fine) until they are as you want. Note that the paste is very thick, so if using a blender, it is easier to do it a bit at a time.
- Stir in the sugar. You should now have a thick but damp paste.
- Preheat the oil in a frying pan or wok, and fry the bean paste, using a spatula or spoon to stir, until the water has been driven off. The bean paste will now be quite dry, with a slightly grainy texture.
- Cool, and store in an airtight container until needed. This paste will keep for at least a week in the fridge.
[edit] Uses of Red Bean Paste
Red bean paste is used in many recipes:
