Anko is a sweetened paste made out of red beans, kinda like a bean jam? …I don’t know if I’m selling this. It’s a good source of fibre and protein, and is delicious spread over buttered toast or scones with strawberries. Am I selling it now?
Quick Chat
I never really liked anko but when I lived in Japan I started to warm up to it. It was when my Obachan made sweet red bean soup with mochi that I truly thought – wow, this is yummy. Now I love it!
Anko Recipe Tips
Sugar. I prefer my desserts to be on the less sweet side, so I add about 50% of the weight of the beans in sugar, but this does reduce the shelf life. I made the mistake of leaving it too long in the fridge and it went mouldy quite quickly. I recommend freezing it into little portions if you won’t be using it quickly.
Don’t boil the beans for too long. It is very easy to overcook these beans. Keep checking them, especially after they’ve been cooking for an hour. If the beans blow (burst open) you will loose the inside of the beans which is important to the overall result.
How to use Anko (Sweet Red Bean Paste)
Anko is used a lot throughout traditional Japanese desserts such as mochi, dorayaki, taiyaki, anpan. Some less traditional but delicious options are in scones (like in the picture), spread over toast with some butter or with ice cream!
Anko
Equipment
- 1 blender
Ingredients
- 200 g adzuki beans
- 100 g sugar
Instructions
- There is a two part boiling process for this recipe. Firstly, add the beans to a pot and cover with some water then bring to a boil. As soon as it boils, drain and refill with more water.
- The second boil is to cook the beans. This can take anywhere from 1 hour to 1 and a half hours. Gently simmer the beans with plenty of water on a low heat and check them often, especially after the 1 hour mark.
- The beans should be soft and easily mushed between your fingers. Once they are done, drain, but reserve the liquid.
- Add the cooked beans back to the pot and add the sugar. Give it a good mix to incorporate the sugar before blending.
- Blend until you get the desired consistency. If you can't decide between chunky or smooth, split the portion in half and make both.
- This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, freeze if you won't be using it quickly.
