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紅豆沙 - Red Bean Paste
Red bean paste is made from adzuki bean, a common dessert filling ingredients in China, Korea, and Japan. Previously I have posted the recipe to make the Japanese version (adzuki an), and here is the Chinese version.
As far as I can tell, the Chinese version of red bean paste is almost always a smooth paste, and traditionally lard is added to the paste. Since it is not that easy to get a hold of lard, I use butter instead :) But if you have lard on hand, it is considered more “correct” to use lard.
紅豆沙 - Red Bean Paste
Ingredients
- 8 ounce (225 gram) adzuki beans, washed and drained
- 2 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoon lard (or butter)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place adzuki beans in a pot and pour enough water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then drain.
- Again, pour enough water to cover the beans by 1 inch, and again bring to a boil. This time, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it rest for 1 hour. This will soften the beans without having to waste too much gas/electricity.
- Drain the beans, then pour enough water to cover the beans again by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the beans are really soft, the skins have split, and almost fall apart. About 30 minutes.
- Drain the beans, transfer to a food processor (or a blender), and process until smooth.
- Return the paste to a pot, add sugar, lard (or butter), and salt. Cook on low-medium heat until it turns into a thick paste, stir frequently.
- Turn off heat, let it cool, then store in fridge. Please use within 2 weeks.
Comments
I bought a bag of red beans on an impulse (mainly the possibility to make sesame balls) and I liked the prospect of making red bean paste from scratch. To save myself from cleaning another dish, I used an emersion blender. It came out great, and I like being able to control the sweetness and consistency. This one is really sweet, but for the purpose as a filling, it's perfect. I've already tried it in the Red Bean Pancake recipe, and I can't wait to use my own red bean paste for tang yuan! Who knows if I'll even get around to making those sesame balls...
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