Everyone knows the bean and many love it, but using it for desserts is somewhat unusual and unusual for us. Meanwhile, there is a special variety cultivated for centuries, rich not only in protein but also in sugars.
Bean Champion
Its second name is angular vigna. This is a whole genus of herbaceous annual plants from the legume family. The natural habitat is Southeast Asia and the Himalayas, where it was first cultivated. Small beans are collected in the pods of plants (total up to 5 mm in length), they can have different colors: black, gray, white, with varying degrees of variegation. However, the most famous and valuable is the red bean adzuki. In Japan, for example, it is the second most popular bean after soy. This is a valuable source of vegetable protein - the main building material for the human body. In addition, it contains a sufficient amount of folic acid, iron and complex carbohydrates.
In Asia, adzuki is most often used in the preparation of various desserts and pastries. In particular, in China and Japan, anko bean paste is very popular. It is used as an independent dish or filling for various kinds of baking.
Cooking Azuki Beans
From the familiar and familiar beans, the look of adzuki is distinguished by its softness, sweet taste and delicate nutty aroma. The main plus and nuance in its preparation - you do not need to soak the beans. Without such preliminary preparation, beans are cooked quickly.
Beans need to be washed, and then pour water in a ratio of 1: 3. Simmer after boiling for about 45 minutes. Drain the remaining liquid from the finished beans. With this cooking method, almost all useful and valuable components are stored in it. In this case, a double boiler will be a good helper - in it beans are cooked for about 1.5 hours.
If you come across an adzuki bean in the store, recipes using it will come in handy. True, it is worth noting that most of them are very exotic for our cuisine and sometimes it is difficult to find some ingredients. We suggest that you try cooking azuki beans as a main course and traditional Asian delicacies.
Beans with Lentils and Peppers
A rich second course cooked according to this recipe is an excellent source of protein. Moreover, it has a low calorie content. You will need:
- adzuki beans - 50 g;
- Puy lentils - 30 g;
- red beans (regular) - 50 g;
- olive oil - 50 ml;
- bell pepper (medium size) - 2 pcs.;
- onions - 1 pc.;
- chili pepper - 1 pc.;
- tomatoes - 300 g;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- tomato paste - 500 ml;
- fresh cilantro - 1 bunch;
- salt and pepper to taste.
Normal beans need to be soaked overnight in enough water, then dried. The peculiarity of the preparation of this dish is a special stage - scalding with boiling water. Beans must be scalded, dried and washed in cold water. Then pour water and cook, without closing the lid, over high heat for 10 minutes. Further, over low heat, simmer until soft (30-40 minutes).
Cook the adzuki beans and lentils in the same way in a separate saucepan, the cooking time for these ingredients is reduced to 12-15 and 20-25 minutes, respectively. Dry all beans and set aside.
In a thick-walled pan in hot olive oil, fry onions, red pepper and chili, garlic until soft. It takes about five minutes. Sprinkle the vegetables on top with chili powder and salt. Then add all the legumes, tomatoes and tomato paste, simmer the mixture for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. It should become thick in consistency. At the end of cooking add chopped cilantro.
Anko Recipe
This is a very unusual treat, popular in Japan and China. To cook it, you will need:
- adzuki beans - 200 g;
- white sugar - 200 g;
- salt - one pinch.
Beans are recommended to soak overnight in water. After 8-12 hours, you can start cooking. Pour the beans 4-5 cm above the surface and bring to a boil over high heat, then add the liquids again and cook for about an hour. Ready beans should be crushed easily by fingers.
Sugar is poured into a semi-prepared paste in three stages, while the fire must be strong, and the mixture must be constantly mixed. Add salt. The paste will be ready when the bottom is exposed for 3-4 seconds with stirring. Turn off the heat, allow the mixture to cool slightly and place in portioned bags if you do not plan to use it immediately. Bean paste can be stored in the refrigerator for a week, and in the freezer for up to one month.
A lot depends on the cooking time. As you can see in the photo, the consistency of this is completely different. However, like the original name. In the photo above, on the left is tsibuan, and on the right is koshian (more pasty mass). Try different options and choose the best one for you!
Moti - Japanese Dessert
Ingredients:
- adzuki beans - 300 g;
- rice flour - 250 g;
- corn starch - 250 g;
- salt - one pinch;
- sugar - 100 g;
- icing sugar - 200 g;
- water - 250 g.
Beans should be boiled for 45 minutes with the addition of 100 g of sugar. Allow the mixture to cool and grind it to a smoothie consistency, or go the more difficult way and prepare the bean paste according to the previous recipe.
Mix sugar powder, rice flour and starch in a special bowl, then add water and cook in the microwave at the highest power for 1-2 minutes. Time is individual and depends on many indicators. Ideally, you should have a smooth, soft, elastic and sticky, but not slippery mass.
Make cakes from the resulting dough and put the bean paste inside, then form a ball, as shown in the photo above, and roll it in icing sugar.
So it turns out an unusual Japanese dessert - mochi. You can experiment with filling and topping, using pistachios, persimmons, sesame seeds, etc.