Anko: Red Bean Paste From Japan – That’s How It Works

Anko – This is what you need for the red bean paste

The paste is ideal for preparing various recipes from Japanese cuisine. You need the following ingredients for the production:

• 500 grams of azuki beans
• 400 grams of sugar
• water
• Optional: 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

How to make Anko

When you have all the ingredients together, you can start preparing the popular paste.

1. First, fill the beans in a sieve and wash them thoroughly. Then put them in a bowl of water and let the azuki beans soak for at least 12 hours.
2. Then drain the water and wash the beans one more time.
3. Now put the beans in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them. As soon as the water boils, it must be poured off and replaced with new. To do this, add about 1 liter of water to the saucepan and set the stove to medium-low.
4. The beans now have to simmer for about half an hour. If they burst, that’s a sign the water is too hot. In this case, lower the temperature of the oven. Also, keep adding more water so that the azuki beans are continuously covered.
5. After half an hour, test whether the beans are soft. If this is the case, you can now pour the water into another container as it will be needed again at a later date.
6. Leave the beans in the pot and turn the heat down to the lowest setting. Then add the sugar and, if you like, the vanilla extract and stir the mixture well so that the sugar dissolves.
7. Then you can process the beans with a blender or a potato masher. The mass is usually still relatively thick and lumpy, in this case, add the reserved cooking water to achieve the desired consistency.