Country-Style Zenzai (Sweet Red Bean Soup)
- 250 grams Dried adzuki beans
- 200 grams White sugar
- 750 ml Water for boiling
- 1 tsp Soy sauce
- 2 pinch Salt
- Removing the astringency of the beans: Place the rinsed beans in a pot, fill with enough water to cover the beans, then bring to a boil over high heat.
- Once it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low-medium heat and boil for 10 minutes.
- Drain off the water in a colander or sieve.
- Boiling the beans Return the beans to the pot, add the water for boiling, then bring to a boil.
- When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a level where the beans will not move around.
- Cover with the lid slightly set to the side, and slowly simmer until the beans become tender.
- The beans should be slightly above the water level when they are done simmering.
- The beans should be tender enough that they easily crush between your fingers.
- While it depends on the beans used, if they are fresh, they should finish boiling in about 40 minutes.
- Flavoring Turn off the heat, then add the sugar all at once.
- Gently stir the pot, and heat on low heat until the sugar dissolves.
- Once the sugar is added, the beans will start to produce moisture.
- In Step 5, the beans were slightly above the water level, but after adding the sugar, they should be covered by the water.
- When bubbles start to appear around the edges of the pot, simmer on very low heat for about 10 minutes to completely dissolve the sugar.
- Add the soy sauce and salt, then stir the pot to blend the flavors.
- Remove from heat, cover the pot with a lid, then let allow the beans to sit overnight to absorb the flavors.
- Serve on top of omochi or candied chestnuts.
- Add a bit of shio-kombu or shibazuke on the side to freshen the palate.
- The photo shows it served on top of kabocha to celebrate the winter solstice.
- See my recipe for making tsubu-an.
- See.
adzuki beans, white sugar, water, soy sauce, salt
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/148671-country-style-zenzai-sweet-red-bean-soup (may not work)