You know when you feel like eating one? change, but he doesn’t really know what. It goes back and forth to the fridge about 100 times hoping that one of those trips, something magical will appear.
Then, out of nowhere came need to make and eat Anko: adzuki bean paste! Yes, meuzamigos and minhazmigas… don’t leave there! Do not go away, bear with me!
The idea of sweet beans is not so common in the West, yes, I know! But on some of these adventures in Asian confectionery you came across a sweet that seemed to be filled with chocolate and when you bit into it you were shocked (oops!) by the filling, you can be sure it was anko.
I’m suspicious to say, after all, I grew up eating sweets. So, it’s an acquired preference, she would say. Who knows, who knows, you might end up liking it, right? And if you are a supporter or are of Asian descent, let’s do it!
Anko: Azuki Bean Paste
Makes: 650 g
- 250 g adzuki beans (already chosen)
- 500 mL water (#1)
- 1 L water (#2)
- 200 g crystal Sugar
1 cup: 250mL | 1 tablespoon: 15mL.
- Wash the chosen beans twice to remove dirt.
- In a pan, mix the clean beans and water #1. Place over medium heat and boil for 10 minutes.
- Drain the beans, the water can be discarded.
- In the pressure cooker, add the boiled beans and water #2, close the pan. Cook over high heat until it starts to sizzle, then reduce the heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes. I did this step in the electric pressure cooker in the same way.
- After the cooking time, carefully remove the pressure. It’s very hot! Check that the beans are well cooked: when you press the beans with your fingers, they should fall apart easily.
- Drain the cooked beans, reserve the cooking water.
- The final appearance of the anko can be lumpy-rustic (Tsubushian) or fine-creamy (Koshian). This time I did the Koshian style.
- Koshian: pass the beans through a fine sieve to retain the skins. There will be a mass of shells and beans left, add everything and add part of the reserved cooking water (~50mL). Mix well and pass through the sieve again, there will still be skins left, this is normal. The final paste must be free of lumps.
- For the Tsubushian style, you don’t need to go through the sieve, just continue from the item below.
- Return the bean mass (or just the cooked beans) to a pan and add the sugar. Cook over low heat for about ~15-20 minutes to evaporate some of the water and dissolve the sugar in the dough. For Tsubushian, mash the beans while mixing.
- Transfer to a container and let cool before using.
- Cooking: it can be made in a normal pan too, but it will take around 1h to 1h30m depending on the beans. And from time to time you need to replace the cooking water that evaporates during the process.
- Sugar: the quantity can be reduced if desired, between 150-200g is a good range. Above 200g it will be very sweet.
- Koshian: some recipes suggest putting the beans in a food processor, the texture may be creamy, but the skins have not been removed.
