Anko, sweet red bean paste, is the central ingredient for many traditional Japanese confections. The idea of a bean paste as the focus of a dessert seems so strange to many, but I think it is the perfect blend of sweet and savory. The paste is made up of Azuki red beans and sugar. Simple ingredients but the process takes a lifetime to master.
Anko Haiku
azuki red beans
seems so strange in a dessert
sweet and savory
There are two basic forms of red bean paste, tsubuan (chunky) and koshian (smooth). The basic difference is that when making koshian the cooked azuki beans are passed through a strainer to remove the outer shell resulting in a smooth paste, where the shell remains in the tsubuan resulting in a coarse paste. I have never tried tsubuan, but the difference in the two lies in the texture, otherwise, they should taste the same.
My first attempt to make anko was satisfactory, but I had no idea what I was doing. I read different recipes and talked to a friend, who tried to describe how sweet the anko should be. Still, knowing the Japanese preference for desserts to be less sweet than the typical American taste, I was hesitant to add enough sugar to properly sweeten the beans. The resulting sweet red bean paste lacked the sweetness desired for a confection.
On to my latest attempt to make anko. My nurse was having a baby and requested matcha macarons with smooth red bean paste filling for her baby shower. I regrouped, reviewed the anko recipes that I had saved, looked at more recipes, and sought more advice.
After my first experience baking anko, it was recommended that I watch a Japanese movie "Sweet Bean", which can be streamed on Netflix. It is a tender story about friendship, prejudice, redemption, and giving whatever is happening in your life the proper time to develop. In the movie, there is long scene where Tokue shows Sentaro, the manager of the dorayaki shop, how to properly make anko. She listens to the beans as they cook, is patient with the process, and willingly gives the time needed for the flavors to properly meld together. The resulting anko was delicious, so much better than anything Sentaro had ever tasted before. I watched this scene several times before my latest attempt to make sweet bean paste, trying to put myself in Tokue's place imagining how the process should take place.
Now on to my recipe for koshian:
Ingredients:
• 500 grams azuki beans
• water
• 450 grams cane sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup (substitute for mizuame)
• 3 tsp. salt
Cover the beans with water and pick out any damaged beans. Soak the azuki beans for twelve to twenty four hours, drain, rinse, and drain again.
Transfer the beans to a large stock pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover letting the beans simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The beans are done when you can easily mash a bean with a spoon.
Place the pot in a sink and run cool water into the pot until the water runs clean. This will remove any remaining bitterness from the beans.
Place a mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the beans into the sieve. With the back of a spoon, mash the beans through the sieve into the bowl with the reserved liquid. When only bean skins remain in the sieve, discard them.
Pour the mashed beans and liquid into a cheesecloth, and strain out most of the liquid. To gauge if you have removed enough liquid, press your finger into the beans. If it holds the indentation without crumbling, it's ready.
Clean the pot. Place the mashed beans back into the pot. Add the sugar and salt and turn the heat to low.
Heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the corn syrup and continue to heat on low until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
The anko is poured into a dish and allowed to cool. Anko can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for two months. When storing in the freezer, divide the sweet red bean paste into 100 gram portions, wrap in two layers of Saran Wrap, and then place in a air tight container.
I hope you enjoyed the story. It is another culinary journey that is well worth the time and effort to travel.