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Mizu Yokan - Red Bean Kanten (Agar)
Japanese mizu yokan is one of the simplest and most elegant desserts. The ingredients are minimal: azuki an (red bean paste), kanten powder (agar powder), sugar, and water. You can use ready made azuki an, or if it is not easily available where you live, I have a simple recipe for home made azuki an. For the kanten powder (agar powder), I use Swallow Globe brand’s kristal agar tanpa rasa (plain agar-agar and jelly powder). This comes in a white packet with a net weight of 10 gram per packet. Please don’t use the 7 gram packet or your yokan will not set properly. If you have pretty molds, you can pour your yokan into molds and it will look so pretty when set. And if you have heart shape molds, this will be perfect for Valentine’s day, no? ♥
Mizu Yokan - Red Bean Kanten (Agar)
Ingredients
- 300 gram red bean paste (Japanese: azuki an)
- 500 ml water
- 150 ml water (*)
- 60 gram sugar
- 10 gram plain agar-agar and jelly powder (I use the one from Swallow Globe)
- Tools
- blender
- strainer
- mold(s)
Instructions
- Place red bean paste and 500 ml water in a blender and process until smooth. Strain this red bean paste liquid so the yokan will be smooth. Add enough of the (*) water to get a total of 900 ml of red bean paste liquid.
- In a pot, boil together red bean paste liquid, sugar, and the agar-agar and jelly powder. Strain into a baking pan or any pretty mold(s) that you have. Let the yokan set at room temperature. Once it sets, chill for 2 hours in a fridge. Serve cold.
Comments
Lovin red bean all the way, my mom used to made es kacang merah but never made a pudding with it, sounds yummy and delicacy!!!
Oh man, I used to make this all the time; then I moved to a town where I can't get the agar. I miss it.
Hi Mafalde, that is indeed too bad :(
You can use any form of gelatin, so you can still make it :) unless you are vegan of course. But you should be able to find them in Chinese supermarkets though.
I have seen a lot of recipes for this that always call for the smooth bean paste with no chunks, but I can't buy that anywhere and certainly won't make it. Can you just use the normal paste with chunks?
Yes Emy, it just will not be smooth :) Or, you can puree the chunky paste first with a blender or food processor to get a smooth paste.
Hi. Im thinking to make it tomorrow but Im confuse is it 10g of agar agar powder and 10g of jelly powder i need or agar agar and jelly powder are 1 type?
Hi Sue, this kristal agar 10 gram pack is what I mean. If you can only find the more common agar-agar powder 7 gram pack, you may need to use 1 1/2 packet for the yokan to set properly.
Hi I would like to try to make this recipe but all I have is Knox Gelatin powder. Can I substitute the agar agar and the jelly powder for equal amount of gelatin powder? Thank you.
Hi Nadia, you can, but the texture will be different. Yokan is supposed to have a firm texture and we achieve that with kanten/agar powder. Using gelatin will result in a wobby, jelly-like texture; so although it works, you end up with a different end result by using gelatin.
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