Learn how to make anko sweet red bean paste from scatch. Step-by-step pictures included.
Anko (あんこ, 餡), or sweet red bean paste, is used in many confectioneries in Japan. It is usually prepared by boiling azuki beans, sometimes mashing them, and then sweetening the paste with sugar. The most common types of read bean paste include Tsubuan and Koshian.
Other varieties of red bean paste includes Shiroan (白あん), made from Japanese white beans, and Kurian (栗あん) made from chestnuts.
All types of red bean pastes are used in many delicious Japanese sweets such as Anmitsu, Daifuku, Dango, Dorayaki, Oshiruko / Zenzai, Taiyaki, Manju, and Yokan.
Tsubu-an (Chunky Red Bean Paste)
Tsubuan (粒あん) is prepared by boiling and sweetening with sugar, but otherwise untreated. Hence the texture is chunky. My recipe below shows you how to make chunky read bean paste from scratch.
My Other Recipes
Koshi-an (Smooth Red Bean Paste)
Koshian (こしあん) is prepared by passing through a sieve to remove bean skins. The texture is smoother and is most commonly used for wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery).
I make koshian with a pressure cooker. Check out my Pressure Cooker Anko recipe for detailed instructions. You can also purchase a packaged koshian.
Quick & Easy Pressure Cooker Method
If you want to use a pressure cooker, check out my Pressure Cooker Anko recipe.
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- 200 g Azuki beans (200 g = 7 oz or a little bit less than 1 cup which is 220g) (I used Hokkaido Dainagon Azuki Beans : bigger than regular azuki)
- Water
- 200 g sugar (200 g = 7 oz or 1 cup)
- Pinch Kosher salt
Gather all the ingredients.
- Soak the azuki beans overnight (8-12 hours).
- Rinse azuki beans.
- Use a big saucepan/pot because the amount of azuki beans will double after cooking. Put washed azuki beans in the pot and pour water till 1-2 inch above azuki beans. Turn the heat on high.
- When boiling, turn off the heat and cover with lid. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Throw away water and put the azuki beans into a sieve.
- Put the azuki beans back in the pot. Add enough water just to cover the beans and turn the heat on high. Once boiling, turn down the heat to medium low and keep it simmering.
- Once in a while push the azuki beans under the water with slotted spoon. Water will evaporate so you need to keep adding water to cover just above the beans. If you put too much water, the beans will move and break. If you need to leave the kitchen, make sure to turn off the heat. You will be cooking for 1+ hour.
- Pick one azuki bean and squeeze it with your fingers. If it is smushed easily, it’s done.
- Turn up the heat to high and add sugar in 3 separate times. Stir constantly. When you draw a line on the bottom of the saucepan and see the surface for more than 2 seconds, add salt and turn off heat. Anko will thicken more when it cools.
- Pour into a container to cool down. Do not leave it in the pot. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge to store after cool down. If you aren't planning to use it all at once, you can divide it into 100g packages. Wrap in plastic bag and store in Ziploc Freezer bags and can store in fridge for a week and freezer up to a month.
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe in your own words and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Recipes with Sweet Red Bean Paste
Dorayaki (Japanese Red Bean Pancake)
Ujikintoki (Green Tea Shaved Ice)
Zenzai / Oshiruko (Red Bean Soup)
If you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook — We love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
Victoria
Do you recommend using brown cane sugar, regular white granulated sugar or normal brown sugar?
Nami
Hi Victoria! I don’t think the kinds of sugar would affect the final result that much. I chose white granulated sugar so most people can use this recipe. If you use different type of sugar, please adjust the sweetness based on the kind you use. 🙂
Elizabeth
Re: sugar substitutions: if I might add something, please? As long as the sugar in a recipe is being measured by weight, you should be fine substituting one form of cane sugar for another — *except* for icing/confectioner’s sugar (it contains corn starch which could affect the consistency). Sugar substitutes measured by volume could, however, affect the final level of sweetness. With sugars of the same granule size as refined white sugar, there would be little difference between volume measures, but brown sugar (white sugar with some molasses added) can be packed loosely or tightly into a cup (recipes including brown sugar usually specify which) so the weight of a cup of brown sugar can actually vary between recipes.
All nit-picking aside, I’ve often substituted brown sugar for white in recipes for pies and I imagine that it would work fine in the anko recipe. If a kitchen scale is not available, then I would suggest ‘loosely’ packing the brown sugar when measuring (I see that Nami has already kindly provided the volume measurement for white sugar in another reply). 😉
My two cents’ worth. Best wishes.
Nami
Hi Elizabeth! This is WONDERFUL! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! It’s very true about the difference made by the volume, which is why I started to use the weight for baking just to get more precise result. 🙂 Thank you once again for your kind feedback!
giovanna
Thank you so much for the recipe! I have tried to do this before but sadly missed the mark. Your recipe was easy and really tasty.
Nami
Hi Giovanna! I’m glad this recipe worked out for you! Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Heidi
I had started using another recipe but found yours to be much more in depth and it helped me know when it was done! Thanks so much, I am making it as a surprise for my Japanese exchange student who said this was her favorite dessert! Hopefully it turns out! Thanks,
Nami
Hi Heidi! Thanks for your feedback! The Japanese loves sweeten red bean sweets. I hope she will enjoy this! 🙂
SLD
I have two questions, how much salt should be used?
And when I cooked it, the beans lost their red colour, but it became perhaps a bit purple, with white inside. Is that okay?
Nami
Hi SLD! I have updated my recipe – it should be just a pinch of salt. Thank you for noticing and letting me know. 🙂
About your beans. What kind of Azuki beans did you use? If you see my picture at step#8, you can see white color inside beans. That’s okay. It’s no longer “red” like red color at step #9. Are you referring that color as purple? Then yours seem just fine. 🙂
SLD
Thank you for the reply!
I bought a Shirakiku brand Azuki bean – I don’t know of that’s good or not? Either way, a lot of red did disappear over all, but the end result was a bit purplish-maroon. It tastes great, despite the fact that I should have cooked it a bit longer to reduce the full beans in the paste.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! 🙂
Nami
Hi SLD! Shirakiku brand is okay – not the top quality azuki beans but I sometimes use that brand products too.
And it does disappear some red color as you cook. My red bean color is just like how you see in my pictures. It’s hard to call this “red” though so we may have the same color. Was yours different color? At step #8, the bean is smushed very easily, almost without any strength. That’s the key for hardness. Thank you so much for your feedback again!
SLD
Ah, I see!
My colour looked more like your Koshian (but a bit darker). I’m going to try again, as it was only my first time making it. Thanks you! 🙂
Nami
You’re welcome! Thank you very much for your feedback!
nmi
How many cups is 7oz of beans and 7 oz sugar? I have standard U.S. measuring cups but no scale.
Andre
I just checked this and 7 oz of beans, is just under 1 US cup for the brand of red bean I have.
The sugar (I have Rogers fine granulated) worked out to ~85/100 cup. That should be about approximately 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp.
—–
By the way, love the recipe! My friends from Japan thought the diafuku I made with this anko were wonderful.
Nami
Hi Andre! Thank you SO much for answering to a reader’s question. I really appreciate it. 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you liked the recipe. It’s nice to make homemade anko because we can control the amount of sugar we put in, while premade anko is convenient but often it’s too sweet. Thank you very much for your feedback on this recipe. I’m very glad your friends from Japan enjoyed your daifuku! YUM!
Mellow
This recipe was a complete success! I think I cooked it slightly too long and added too much extra suger, but it’s going to be perfect next time. Thanks so much! 🙂 I’ll be making it for dorayaki soon.
Nami
Hi Mellow! I’m glad to hear you liked this recipe! I hope you enjoy dorayaki too! 😀
Gemma
Thank you so much Nami for this recipe! I have just successfully made my first dorayaki 🙂
Nami
Hi Gemma! Yay! Thank you so much for letting me know. So happy to hear you made dorayaki. Hope you enjoy eating now…. hehee 🙂
Tina
Great recipe! Great blog! Can’t wait to try this to put it in my mochi! 🙂
Question: What do I do if I want to make Koshian style instead?
Thank you!
Nami
Hi Tina! Thank you for your kind words.
Koshian requires more extra steps so I haven’t actually had time to photo shoot and prepared it for the blog.
After step 8, you can either use food processor (short cut) to make a paste, or use fine sieve to strain using rubber spatula.
After that you put the mashed beans in cloth and squeeze the liquid out.
Then add the mashed beans and sugar in a pot and mix until sugar melts completely. Add the salt at the end.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Tina
Thank you so much!! Can’t wait to try it.
Felicia
Hi Nami,
At step 9, we check for the consistency and then turn off the heat. After turning off the heat, do we drain off the water and mash the red beans? I don’t see this step.
Appreciate your advise.
Nami
Hi Felicia! We do not need to drain. The moisture from anko will continue evaporate and the mixture will be harder. This is “tsubuan” recipe (has texture of beans), which still has texture. For “koshian” recipe (mashed paste), please see the comment number 21. I briefly mentioned how to make it. Hope this helps. 🙂
Lx
Can i use normal red bean to make this?
Nami
I’m not sure if other kinds of red bean work… I have never tried and I assume the taste and texture are quite different. However if you happen to try and it works, please let me know so others can follow as well. 🙂
Trudy
I used ‘normal’ red bean, although it did say ‘Azuki beans’ on the packet. But it was the small red beans that the Chinese often used. Product of Australia, it said on the packet…
Thanks Nami, loved the detailed instructions and pictures. I’d always wanted to make this. I used the same technique.
With 200g of sugar (I used raw sugar), it’s still on the sweeter side. What is the smallest amount of sugar you’ve tried using to get the same texture?
Nami
Hi Trudy! I usually use 200g, if it’s for sweets. Canned or packaged anko is even sweeter, and 200g works for making dorayaki and mochi filling, especially drinking bitter green tea. 😀
Try reducing 20 gram to see if it fits your liking. The texture should be okay. It’s more of your preference for sweetness. 🙂
Ega
I tried it with small red bean bought in Kroger and it didn’t work! I didn’t continue my cooking after finding that the red color had gone with the water after soaking, then it became much more whitening when boiled and simmered, then I went back to this page to look for related comment and here I am :))
Nami
Hi Ega! I believe your “red bean” is not Azuki beans. Azuki bean skin is very hard, and the color will never be gone after soaking. I hope you can find azuki beans in Kroger. 🙂
Ega
Yes, I knew it wasn’t azuki beans, but I was curious 😀 I changed my mind and continued cooking, then surprisingly it turned red as the water drained. Here is the photo of my anko: https://instagram.com/p/6w4oxPPtrZcB3-4XzOwaenRlF4MrD9rag250M0 thanks so much for your recipe 🙂
Nami
Hi Ega! It looks great! Thanks so much for trying this recipe. I’m glad some of the color came back. 🙂
John
Hi, With the uncertainty of Japanese products possibly being contaminated from the nuclear fallout after the tsunami and the knowledge that millions of pounds of tainted products were shipped to be sold abroad do you know a domestic source of those beans? I mean, if they grow in japan, they will possibly grow in a large part of the rest of the world in similar climates. Any idea where to get some that are not from Japan?
Nami
Hi John! I wish I know the answer but I don’t know. Other Asian cuisines use red beans for their sweets, so maybe try finding in Chinese and Korean market. Hope that helps. 🙂
Alice
I have found them on Amazon, although your local health food or grocery store may carry this brand, which also markets Buckwheat Flour and other grains.
Bob’s Red Mill – Premium Quality Adzuki Beans, package is marked Product of the USA.
Nami
Thank you so much for your comment and help, Alice! 🙂
Rebecca
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Measurements in cups!
Nami
Hi Rebecca! It’s hard to be precise with cup, but the recipe is now updated. Hope you enjoy!
Vanessa
Hi, how long will the paste be good for if kept in freezer? Thanks.
Nami
Hi Vanessa! It’s usually recommended to use within 1 month, but 3 months is okay but remember the quality level is not the same as within 1 month period. 🙂 I’ll update the info in my recipe. Thanks for asking!
Nicole
Incredible site Nami, Directions are strait forward and easy to follow, the pictures are amazing & helps ease my NEED for occasional Japanese cuisine 🙂
Just curious, has anyone made anko with artificial sweetener? (I try to cut back on sugar as much as possible & it looks like this recipe is actually pretty healthy; considering the fiber in the beans :))
I’ve had red bean ice cream & bean rolls (i believe) & they were absolutely wonderful; what other sweet red bean snacks can you recomend?
Thank you for all the very helpful info! 🙂
Nami
Hi Nicole! Thank you so much for your kind words, and I’m happy to hear you enjoy my site! 🙂
No, I’ve never tried with artificial sweetener before.
So far on my blog, I have the following recipes that use red bean paste:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/zenzai-red-bean-soup/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/red-bean-ice-cream/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/red-bean-pancake/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/dorayaki-japanese-red-bean-pancake/
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/mitarashi-dango/ (w/ red bean paste on top)
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/strawberry-daifuku/
Hope that helps!
Trudy
http://www.recipesource.com/misc/hints/diabetic/sugar-subs1.html gives the conversion between sweetener and sugar. Might be useful if considering a conversion/ substitute.
Nami
Thanks Trudy! This is very helpful! I’ll let Nicole know. 🙂
Nancy
Hi Nami,
Have you ever heard of an anko custard??? I just saw this unicorn
crepe (which I had never heard of either) and it says it uses anko custard and cream..
http://www.cakespy.com/blog-old?currentPage=24
If so, do you have a recipe??
Sincerely,
Nancy
Nami
Hi Nancy! I saw the post – I never heard of “anko custard” in Japanese but I think it’s their recipe with anko and whip cream. Sorry I can’t help, but maybe try experimenting with the ratio between anko and whip cream to get the delicious anko custard. 🙂
NI
I really liked this recipe. It has easy instructions and the photos are really useful! I followed it to make my own red bean paste. I decided that the store bought paste with corn syrup could be improved upon! Instead of white sugar, I used organic coconut sugar by Madhava (Costco) and the taste is delicious. One thing though. I will cook it far beyond the beans being “easy to squish” next time because when I did that the end product wasn’t a paste; instead it was semi firm whole beans after it became more solid during the cooling (still yummy). Next time I’m going to boil it beyond that by double the time I think.
Nami
Hi NI! Thank you for trying this recipe. Yes, store bought ones are usually a bit too sweet. I need to share how to make “koshian” which is probably the one you are looking for – the paste is smooth and not coarse. This recipe is “tsubuan” which should have some bean texture (which I actually like to use for most of my anko filling sweets). Thanks so much again! xo 🙂
Donna Whitley
Hi,
I am very excited to try this recipe. I want to make taiyaki and my pan has just arrived.
Do you have a taiyaki recipe?
Many thanks
Nami
Hi Donna! I’m so jealous you got Taiyaki Pan! I’ve been thinking about purchasing it for years, and every time I go back to Japan I think about it, then my luggage is too big that I give up. 😀 Maybe one day! Hope you enjoy homemade Taiyaki!
Paola
Hi Nami! I love your web page! I’m a fan :o)
Do you know how long it last in the fridge?
Thanks!
Nami
Hi Paola! Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂 In fridge, about a week, and about a month in freezer. 🙂
Paola
Thank you very much for your quick answer. I will let you know how it turned out (both anko and daifuku) 🙂
Greetings from Uruguay!!!
Nami
Hope you enjoy this anko recipe! Thank you so much for reading my blog from Uruguay! 🙂
Pat Manning
I made this and used your Dorayaki recipe with it. Everyone but my mom loved it. She ended up just eating the dorayaki pancakes. Thank you for posting this!
Nami
Hi Pat! I’m glad everyone (but your mom – haha) liked it! Thank you so much for your feedback. 🙂
azalea
Can I use another red beans? Not the azuki red beans? It’s hard to find it in my town
Nami
Hi Azalea! Azuki beans are sweet, so if your substitute is not sweet, you may need to adjust the flavor. According to this site (http://www.foodsubs.com/Beans.html), azuki’s substitute is black azuki beans OR red kidney beans OR Tolosana beans. Hope that helps. 🙂
WillowTree
I’m looking forward to trying this!
By the way, the word you are looking for in step 9 is ‘thicken’. That is, instead of “When anko cool down, it will be a little harder (more solid)” you can say “Anko will thicken when it cools” or “When the anko cools down, it will become thicker”
Thanks a lot for the recipe
Nami
Hi WillowTree! THANK YOU so much!!! I just edited it. I’m glad you understood what I meant. =P I hope you like this recipe. 🙂
oz b.
Hi! There is no accessible Japanese store in my area, so looking for the word Azuki is hard 🙁 Are azuki beans the same as red mung beans?
Thank you! And great photos! I absolutely love your attention to details! Those little slippers are so cute!
Nami
Thank you so much for your kind compliment. 🙂 Azuki or Aduzki beans are not same as red mung beans unfortunately… I learned from other readers that they find azuki beans in their local shops rather than Japanese grocery stores… I hope you will find azuki beans somewhere… 🙂
sara
I think you can get azuki beans on amazon.
Nami
Thank you for your input Sara! 🙂
Elyse
You can find dried Azuki Beans at specialty/international shops. I’ve found my beans at a large international store near my house. Also, Amazon does help as well as well as this site:
Bob’s Red Mill, they are a bit pricey, possibly due to seasonal items: http://www.bobsredmill.com/adzuki-beans.html?&cat=6
Here’s a link showing what Amazon has:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_sc_0_12?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=adzuki%20beans&sprefix=aduzki+beans%2Caps%2C401
I hope this helps some.
Bill
Hi Nami, Thank you so much for your detailed steps with very helpful accompanying pictures! I’m going to give it a try and have a question before I take the plunge. Presumably a purpose of step 5 is to remove the skins using a sieve. Could you elaborate on how to get the skins out? Best Regards, -Bill
Nami
Hi Bill! No, you do not remove the skin of the beans at all. The purpose of throwing the water there is to get a clean water to cook azuki so that azuki has beautiful red color (instead of cooking in the initial dirty water). Hope this helps! 🙂
Bill
Thank you for the prompt response! Your final product looked perfectly fine and smooth in the picture. I was guessing skins were removed since they tend to leave bits & pieces. I’m wondering which step(s) were primarily responsible for making that nice texture?
Bill
My apologies…Just looked at the pictures again and realized the smooth one I focused on was Koshian but recipe is for Tsubuan, which has skin in it, but still looked very rich. Nice! Thanks again!
Nami
Hi Bill! No problem! Sorry I didn’t realize it earlier too. 🙂
Fiona Stevenson
Thank you!! My nieces have just tried red bean for the first time, and have fallen in love. Unfortunately, where we live there are few places to buy red beans sweets. Now I can make some for them. AMAZING!
Nami
Hi Fiona! I’m happy to hear your nieces liked sweet red bean! It’s one of my favorite ingredient for Japanese sweets. Hope you like this recipe. 🙂
Sara
Turned out perfectly! Thank you!
Nami
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so glad it turned out well! 🙂
Jingwei Han
It’s my first time to make tsubuan.My mum knows how to make it but she is not here with me. She uses the traditional chinese cooking way of red bean paste. So i come to Nami’s website. I’m going to make anpan.So i need the stuffing. I stayed in Sagagen,JP for one year. That’s why I love red bean products.It’s a good recipe and my red bean paste can stay in fridge for a few days , ready to make all kinds of sweets. Thank you~but could you be so kind to tell me the amount of salt? onegaishimasu:)
Nami
Hi Jingwei! I love anko too! Good luck making anpan! It’s one of my favorite pan… 🙂 Generally, pinch of salt is 1/16 tsp (0.36 gram)… which is hard to measure. Just use your fingers. 🙂
Amy Escobar
Hey Nami, do you know why the boiling water is emptied and then refilled? Cooking With Dog uses the same method and I don’t know the reason.
Nami
Hi Amy! Thank you for asking the question. 🙂
Traditional method usually includes a process of emptying water for 1-2 times. The reason is to remove impurities (we call it “aku” – English translation is “scum” – not sure if that’s the right word) from the azuki beans. They taste bitter and you don’t want to cook with them, so we get rid of it by changing the water. Some people do once, some do twice, but you don’t want to lose too much of azuki flavor, so I believe one time is good. Hope this helps. 🙂
Yunari
Nami you are my hero!
I used to love ohagi and daifuku when I was little, but never got to make them again because when I moved, I couldn’t find any type of anko paste, or even azuki beans themselves. Finally found azuki at a local grocery store, stumbled on your recipe, and now can make the pastes anytime. Thank you so much! My picky 3 year old daughter can’t get enough of the strawberry daifuku, and loves your dorayaki recipe (I make her the pancakes with our Hello Kitty pancake maker). She even requests them in both Japanese and English! Thank you so much! 🙂
Nami
Hi Yunari! Aww thank you for your sweet words! 😀 I’m so glad to hear you like the recipes! And your daughter is just like mine, loving dorayaki… except that I don’t make a cute HK pancake shape. Haha 🙂 Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
Fahad
Hey there! First off just like to say this looks soooooo good! Been taking a look at your recipes for two days and they all look amazing! Just screaming to be made!
Is it possible to substitute red beans or kidney beans or something else for the Azuki? It’s impossible to find Azuki where I live! Thanks! 😀
Nami
Hi Fahad! Thank you so much for your kind words. There are many substitute information when you look for azuki beans’s substitute. Some says kidney beans are ok, some said not good. As I haven’t tried it myself, it’s very hard for me to make a suggestion (especially taste and texture are important). Azuki beans can be found in health food store , and maybe you can check there instead of regular supermarket. Hope this helps.
sara
in step 1, when you say to soak the beans overnight, how many hours would you say is “overnight?”
Nami
Overnight usually means 8-12 hours. I updated my recipe with the info. Thank you!
Kira
When I tried to make koshian before, I stored it in a glass jar (unsealed) in the refrigerator. Sugar crystals formed in the koshian afterwards. How do I prevent that? Did I do something wrong in the recipe? I may have used more sugar than suggested.
Nami
Hi Kira! To tell you the truth, I am not sure. I have never made koshian before, and with regular anko I haven’t had this issue before. Is it really bad that you have to cook it before using it? Wish I can help, sorry. 🙁
Elizabeth
Thank you for posting this! I’m interested in making mochi and this recipe will help me know how to cook the beans just right! Can you direct me to a good mochi recipe?
I also have discovered a red bean boba shake and I would like to try making it myself as I think it would be tasty even without boba added.
Nami
Hi Elizabeth! I’m going to do the mochi tutorial one day with video, but meanwhile, you can check out this Strawberry Daifuku as a basic recipe.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/strawberry-daifuku/
Red bean boba is my favorite drink! I always ask for red bean on the side, even though there is no red bean boba as a menu. 😀
Karen Freeman
Hi Nami: Success! We now have red bean paste cooling in the fridge. I loved that you explained “how” and more appreciated the “why” so I had no surprises and was assured success. I was introduced to red bean paste in Korea and enjoy it very much as a substitute for chocolate…..but really there is no substitute for chocolate. I have read the comments to this recipe and I don’t think you would ever be able to substitute the sugar for a low/no calorie option as a sugar is needed to caramelize the beans. Thank you…this is a “keeper” recipe for me and I will be creating a cheesecake w the paste I made today.
Nami
Hi Karen! So glad to hear your anko turn out well so far! I am also happy that you thought my instructions were helpful. Thank you so much for your feedback, as well as feedback on sugar. 🙂
You’ll make cheesecake with red bean paste! Wow I’ve never tried that before and I’m jealous you get to eat it. 🙂 Hope you enjoy anko!
D Furukawa
Have you ever done this in bulk, say 20 bags of beans at once?
D Furukawa
To elaborate, I have tried your recipe and it came out really well; I used it for taiyaki. Yay. Now I have an ambition to serve the azuki with shave ice here in Hawaii for a fundraiser and will need a lot of azuki. I am planning on making 20 bags worth in one big pot and was wondering if you ever made this recipe in bulk, and if you had or know of any issues with cooking this much at once.
Mahalo for your time!
Nami
Hi Fukukawa-san! I’m glad your anko came out well! 🙂 Theoretically, it should work. I’ve seen my mom and my grandma cook for a bigger batch. As long as the beans are “equally” cooked, it should be okay. While cooling the beans, the moisture evaporate and it’ll become harder. If you need anko to have some moisture/softer, please be careful not to lose too much liquid. 🙂
Good luck!
D Furukawa
Will update if I run into any issues. Arigato gozaimasu for the quick reply! Aloha
Nami
Thank you so much! Hope your fundraiser will be successful. If I was in Hawaii, I’d be your frequent customer because I love shaved ice with matcha and azuki! 🙂
Deron Furukawa
Hi again,
Update: the azuki with shave ice was a hit. Topped everything off with sweetened condensed milk. Winner! The only problem I had was cooking the beans. I had to break up the batch into smaller batches because cooking 20 bags all at once was taking too long. Also, 20 bags was A LOT, too much for the biggest pot haha. All in all it was a success. Thank you so much for this recipe! Aloha, Deron Furukawa
Nami
Hi Deron! Thank you for the update! Awesome news! So glad to hear the azuki with shaved ice was a hit! I need to buy a shaved ice machine this year… 🙂 I wish I live nearby so I could have leftover anko! Thanks again!
Matiwariat
The pictures were really helpful. I ended up adding the sugar a bit too early i think and had to evaporate more water to get the proper texture but it still came out great. Now to use up the paste in your other recipes :p
Nami
Hi Matiwariat! So glad to hear my step by step pictures were helpful. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Patt
How long can you keep Anko?
I’m not quite sure if I’m going to use it up in one time.
Thank you :))
Nami
Hi Patt! Wrap in plastic bag and store in Ziploc Freezer bags, and then store in fridge for a week and freezer for up to a month. 🙂
Christine
Hi Nami,
It is my first time attempting anko.
Are the adzuki beans supposed to look
shrivelled after soaking? My beans had
smooth surfaces initially but looked a little
strange after soaking for only 1 hr.
Also, do we top up with tap water or hot water when the water evaporates? Thanks!
🙂 Christine
Nami
Hi Christine! I did some research on the wrinkles after soaking, but couldn’t find the same case. However I read the same thing happened to soybean (daizu) and the reason was that the skin is soft and got expanded first by hydrating. But the wrinkles disappear when the soybean (inside) start to expand after hydrating. That kind of makes sense and I wonder if your wrinkles also disappeared after soaking for more hours.
The wrinkles for azuki usually happen after cooking and cooling, but it was my first time hearing about wrinkles before cooking. Hope the result was okay.
We use water (I use filtered water) instead of hot water. Hope this helps!
Christine
Dear Nami,
Thank you so much for your reply.
Yes the beans became smooth again after
soaking overnight.
However the insides of the beans were cream so I ended up with a paste that was more pinkish than red. And I must have misread your recipe as I threw out the water I cooked the beans in before adding the sugar. 🙁
I will try again with another pack of beans.
Regds,
Christine
Nami
Hi Christine! I’m glad to hear the bean’s wrinkle problem was solved. 😀 I think the color of beans are based on the kind of beans, so you may not be able to change it. Hope next pack of azuki works better. 🙂
Mika
Can i use regular red beans?
Nami
Hi Mika! If you are going to make anko, please use azuki (or adzuki) beans. Thank you. 🙂
Christine
Dear Nami,
I managed to get another packet of adzuki beans from my local Isetan. It says King Dainagon Azuki so hopefully it will work this time!
I am going to experiment with only 100g
of beans.
Btw I just grabbed another 2 packets of Sanuki Udon again today. I have tried your
yaki udon, miso soup, nikujaga and okonomiyaki recipes so far. They all work great! Except for my okonomiyaki which I added too much cabbage. The whole mixture didn’t really hold well together.
🙂 Christine
Nami
Hi Crhsitine! Those azuki beans are from Hokkaido and they are a bit bigger and more expensive (I used dainagon too). Hope anko will come out well.
You will need a good balance of batter vs. cabbage. If too much batter, then Okonomiyaki is like a real pancake. Too much cabbage, then like you said, it breaks easily (not enough connector). To find the good balance, slowly add cabbage to the batter and mix it all up until you add next handful of cabbage. Depending on the amount you are making, you can also transfer some batter and cabbage into a smaller bowl to control the portion/ratio. Hope this helps. 🙂
Christine
Dear Nami,
The tsubuan turned out well this time. I am thinking I must have used the wrong beans previously. I saw them labelled as kintoki beans in Isetan. 🙁 Which is really strange as my tour guide told me they were azuki beans when I bought them in Japan.
Thanks for all your help.
Nami
Hi Christine! Glad it worked out this time! Oh I see. Kintoki Mame is different from Azuki beans. They are used to make a simmered side dish like this (https://www.google.com/search?q=%E9%87%91%E6%99%82%E8%B1%86&client=firefox-a&hs=ovy&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&channel=fflb&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=z2vqU4TXJIXUiwK91IGYAg&ved=0CCwQsAQ&biw=1600&bih=729). Sorry the tour guide was not aware of it… :/
Christine
Dear Nami,
I see. Anyway I made dorayaki with the tsubuan. Hehe. Really enjoy trying out the recipes. I hope one day you will publish a hard copy cookbook!
🙂 Christine
Nami
Hi Christine! So sorry for my late response. I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my blog! Thank you for following! 🙂 Awww thank you so much for your interest in a hard copy cookbook. Well, I barely have time to keep up with my blog right now with 2 posts per week, and I’m responding to readers so slow… =P Maybe one day, when kids are much older. Thank you Christine!
Danielle Osborn
Hello,
I love your recipes, I was wondering if you had the calorie per serving breakdown for the green tea ice cream and the red bean ice cream. Also, perhaps I missed it on the website, if so please direct me to the calorie break down for recipes.
Nami
Hi Danielle! Thank you for reading my blog! Unfortunately, as I am not a registered dietician, I am not comfortable sharing nutritional information for any of my recipes. I recommend utilizing online calorie counters at your discretion to obtain such information. I know it would be very convenient though. 🙂
Olivia
Hi Namiko-san! Thank you for your easy to follow recipe. I’m cooking the anko right now and the smell of adzuki beans cooking away makes me so happy 🙂
Question, will the recipe still work well if you keep a lid on the pot while it simmers for the 1+ hours? Wouldn’t it save having to add additional water throughout?
Kind regards,
Olivia
Nami
Hi Olivia! I hope your anko turned out well! You have a very good question. I cook with no lid without thinking (from my memory of my mom and grandma cooking) but your question made me curious, so I checked other recipes online (mostly videos). Most people cook without lid, and some mention that you need to make sure the water amount. In order to keep the beans in good shape (and texture), we cook the beans under the water just above the beans. If you put too much water, beans will dance around in the water and it will easily break (according to the theory). When you close with the lid, you can’t see how the beans are doing (moving too much or covered by enough water), so most people leave the lid open to keep checking. Some people use Otoshibuta (drop lid) instead of regular lid so that beans won’t be moving too much. Hope this helps!
Elizabeth
Thank you for posting this! Your directions are very clear.
Anko cannot be bought locally… but I did track down a source for the beans, so I plan to play soon with your recipe. I own a mouli (hand-cranked food mill), so I might even experiment a bit to see if I can make a bit of koshian, too! 🙂
Nami
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you so much for your kind words. How cool to own a mouli! We use a very fine sieve and press anko through it, but I wonder how a mouli would work for koshian! Let us know your experience if you try! 😀
Elizabeth
Hello Nami,
I made the anko today — it had a pretty good flavour for beans from the local Bulk Barn (my only source for the dried beans — Heaven knows which brand they are). And, the mouli worked! I now have a batch of koshian.
If anyone else reading this is confused about just what a mouli is, I should add that American suppliers tend to call them hand-cranked, or manual, food mills. The name mouli is used more in the UK; I’ve heard both terms used here in Canada. They are the niftiest gadgets for making soups and preserves and now I know that they can also make koshian. 😉 My mouli, bought at our local Home Hardware, came with three grating discs — I used the finest gauge to sieve the anko.
I had been debating whether to mill the anko hot or cold; ended up doing it hot as it was already quite thick. In fact, it was the thickest thing I’ve put through the mouli. Near the end, I kept scraping down the paste so that the turning blade would catch it (the nice thing about a hand-turned food mill is that there’s no danger of catching a finger or utensil while doing this as you have to stop cranking, heh!) There was very little waste when I was finished — maybe a teaspoon left over in the mouli. You could see a difference in the colour of the paste from start to finish as the bean skins were slower to make their way through the mill, so I just stirred everything together. The final product was a very smooth paste — not certain if it would pass muster in a Japanese kitchen, but I’m happy with it. 🙂
And, I have fresh strawberries… Hmm. 😀
Best wishes,
Elizabeth
p.s. Maybe for proper koshian, there should have been less of the skins in the final product, Nami? Or, do you also force the skins through the sieve when you make koshian? What do you think?
Nami
Hi Elizabeth! Thank you SO MUCH for the update! I had really fun reading your full report! Wow I wished that I could see the process in person. It must have been a very interesting and fun (and delicious!) project. Usually Koshian doesn’t have skin in it, but depends on the brand or preference, you could add some skin for texture. It’s amazing you only had about a teaspoon worth of waste in the mouli afterwards. I hope you enjoy homemade koshian! I have to try making it one day… yeah one day… 🙂
M. Yamashita
can I stir beans during second boiling time? Or wait until they’re fully cooked?
Nami
Hi M. Yamashita-san! The key is not to break the beans. Lots of rules to make just anko, but there are rules that we follow… and that’s why we don’t put a lot of water either because beans will bounce around and break. So in that sense, stirring is not a good idea. However, to be honest, if you don’t care about the “perfect” look, you don’t have to follow… Sometimes Japanese recipes can be a bit too much. 😀
Elyse
I made this yesterday and it turned out wonderful! Thank you for sharing this.
Nami
Hi Elyse! Awesome!!! I’m so glad to hear yours came we well! 🙂
Aya
Hello
thank you very much about Anko Recipe ^_^ , I love it , I interested in Japanese cooking
but If I didn’t found azuki beans can I use Kidney bean ( Phaseolus) instead ??
Are they same taste ?
Nami
Hi Aya! I believe it’s not the same but some readers tried other kinds and said it worked. I just never tried to make anko rather than azuki, so it’s hard for me to answer.
According to this site (http://www.foodsubs.com/Beans.html), azuki’s substitute is black azuki beans OR red kidney beans OR Tolosana beans. Hope that helps. 🙂
Ann
Would you recommend that we purée the cooked red beans before we pack it in individual portion?
Nami
Hi Ann! No puree for Tsubuan. This recipe is for coarse red bean paste, not the fine texture one called koshian. You need to have the bean shape and texture of the beans. 🙂
Alex
I made this today having trouble finding the packaged paste. I amazed myself that I had the patience to make this as it took more than an hour to get the beans soft. I love how the instructions are detailed and photographed. Thanks for the recipe!
Nami
Hi Alex! I’m so glad to hear you tried making homemade anko! I hope you enjoy making sweets with anko now. 🙂 Thank you so much for the kind feedback!
Ruth
I thought I remembered that you have a recipe for nikuman on your site but today I cannot find anything but this anko filling, and no manju at all. Is there any chance you would want to write one? I’ve watched some YouTube videos on how to make the buns but would love to have a Japanese version of the meat filling. I think the anko above would work well for sweet. Don’t know if there are other fillings or not–so I hope you would want to present them if there are. Thanks.
Nami
Hi Ruth! No, I don’t have recipe for Nikuman or Anman yet… something to consider in the future. Thank you for your suggestion! There are Curryman too. For homemade, you can stuff in fillings that we don’t normally have in Japan. I’d love to make homemade version. I’ll need to test the recipe. Thank you again!
Rhonda
Hello Nami!
I wanted to write to you to thank you for such a well written recipe. You pointed out little things to watch out for that made it easy completely understandable.
I had some azuki beans laying around so thought making mochi balls would be the perfect thing to do with them.
Anyway, I ended up putting 1/2 cup honey in place of the sugar. I’m not sure how much that weighs, but I think it might be a good amount. It’s just cooling right now, but I tasted it and it seems to be the right sweetness.
Thank you so much!
Nami
Hi Rhonda! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! I’m happy to hear my recipe was helpful. Glad honey worked and thank you for sharing the amount for honey with us!
Gabrielle
Hihi can I use small red beans as a substitute for azuki beans?
Nami
Hi Gabrielle! To be honest with you, I’ve never use any substitute, so it’s hard for me to say. I looked up on internet and I learned that equal amounts of kidney or red beans work but… I don’t know if they turn into a nice consistency or flavor at the end to call it “anko/red bean paste”. Sorry I wish I could help you more…
Karishma
ii just wantes to ask that i am from india and inwest so that i could not find the adzuki beans. is there any other kind i can use? thank you.
Nami
Hi Karishma! To be honest with you, I’ve never use any substitute, so it’s hard for me to say. I looked up on internet and I learned that equal amounts of kidney or red beans would work but… I don’t know if they turn into a nice consistency or flavor at the end to call it “anko/red bean paste”. Sorry I wish I could help you more… 🙁
karishma
Thank you so much. i wanted to prepare dorayaki for my husband and also because i am a great fan of japanese sweets. but i would really want to appreciate the effort you made for me. you seem to be sweet personality and again I AM A SWEET FAN! I wish you all the best. i will visit your website as often as i can and try them out. thank you!!
Nami
Hi Karishma! Thank you very much for your kind words! Hope you find azuki beans one day. Or you could try out with different beans meanwhile. 🙂 Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Ahomiya
Thank for your recipes, i’ll try some when i’ll have time to cook, really enjoying reading it. Nice finishing product picture !
it’s really making me want to cook some !
Nami
Hi Ahomiya! Thank you so much for your kind words. Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
Johnny
At one time I had a source for pre-made steamed anko buns at a shop where I went to college, but they were discontinued and the shop couldn’t find them anywhere (for a reasonable price). Years go by until I come across your website (which has amazing recipes) and now I’ve got a big pot of anko cooking down. :3
Unfortunately, I accidentally added water an extra time during the cooking process, so I get to wait 4 times as long for it to thicken, but “preliminary tasting” is proving quite delicious. Soon I will have my bean buns! (and other delicious anko treats since I made a HUGE batch) 😀
Nami
Hi Johnny! Oh I love those steamed buns with anko inside! I really need to try developing a recipe for it. I’m glad to hear you enjoy my blog and thanks so much for following! I hope you enjoy all the anko recipes I have on my site after cooking a big pot. 😉
brocade blue
wouldnt it be easier to just preasure cook the beans?
Nami
Sure! If you have one you can use it to cook this, and it’ll be much faster. 🙂
Aranka
Hi,
Ever since I’ve been to Japan and tried Taiyaki there I’ve been wishing to make it at home again, because it was so delicious.
However since this year I can’t eat any sugar anymore, so I was wondering if you could tell me if it’s possible to make anko with Stevia instead of sugar, or is it really necessary to use some kind of actual sugar for the stickiness or some other property of sugar?
Nami
Hi Aranka! You can use Stevia instead of sugar, although I have never used Stevia myself, I am pretty sure it will work. Let me know if it works or doesn’t work. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Jamie
Hello, Nami, and all of her readers. I saw that a lot of people in the US were having problems finding the adzuki beans. I just wanted to share that the store Whole Foods now sells them in their bulk section. I had to drive about and hour to my nearest Whole Foods, but I believe that it was well worth it. I bought about 5lbs so I could make lots of anko to make the daifuku for a friend of mine’s birthday. I hope that this is helpful to anyone having problems finding the adzuki beans.
I am also planning on trying to make them with kidney beans to find out how they compare. I will report back soon!
Nami
Hi Jamie! Thank you so much for sharing helpful information! A lot of healthy stores carry Azuki beans too. And please let us know about the comparison with kidney beans! Azuki has certain texture (kind of hard shell) and flavor that kidney beans don’t have. So I’m afraid anko is missing the taste and the right texture when it’s cooked. Looking forward to it!
Jade
Hi there,
I quite literally just made an extra large batch of anko using your recipe, and it is truly the most delicious anko I have ever tasted outside of Japan.
I love Japanese sweets, and Anko filled daifuku is most definitely my favourite..I live in South Africa where finding ingredients for use Japanese recipes is very difficult. Although I have managed to get my hands on some pre-made anko, this recipe trumps it by far.
Thanks so much for sharing!!
PS. I used brown sugar for this recipe with a 1:1 ratio of sugar to adzuki beans, and it came out perfectly!
Nami
Hi Jade! I’m so glad to hear your anko came out well and thank you for your kind feedback! Thank you for sharing the tips on brown sugar ratio! 🙂
Lark
Hello Nami,
I’ve tried to follow this recipe a couple of times now, and of the two, the first was the most successful. I seem to be having difficulty with the 7th/8th steps; beyond a certain point the beans do not get significantly softer during the simmering, and in the finished paste (I got bored around 1hr30) I found there were still some rather hard beans which were unpleasant to eat. Other than that, the flavour and smell was good. I ended up mashing it with a paste for my purposes, and removing any hard beans I found. Perhaps you have some idea what my problem is?
Anyway, thanks for the detailed recipe, the pictures and all. I’m going to give this another shot later this week 😀
Nami
Hi Lark! Azuki beans are famous for hard outer skin. The new beans are softer, but the old beans are very hard which will take a longer time to cook. When the beans are boiled in a short period of time over high heat, the beans gets softer outside and inside remains hard. It’s recommended to add cold water several times while boiling so that we can reduce the temperature difference between outer and inner red beans. Your beans might be older beans, so make sure to soak in water for a bit longer time. Make sure to cook on low heat as well. 🙂 Good luck!
Lark
Hello again!
I tried again, and did some further research and experimentation. Supposedly adding the sugar gradually helps to prevent the beans from becoming hard during the later stages, as it draws moisture out of them. I can’t confirm this, but that seems to be the point at which my beans became most hard. I have also acquired some fresher beans which may perform better next time I try.
I tried a bunch of things with this batch – I tried blending them, but my blender isn’t very good. I also mashed them with a fork, which was successful with my first batch, but these were even harder. In the end I just forced them through a strainer – koshian style, but with the sugar already added – producing a very small quantity of smooth paste. I don’t recommend doing it this way around, as it’s probably easier before the sugar is added, when the beans are softer.
In the end the amount of smooth paste I had was not enough, so I mixed the remaining part of the beans (which still had a lot of useful flesh) with some cream, blended it, and pressed it into the strainer again. This more-or-less doubled my product, but I’m not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of what I have done XD
Nami
Hi Lark! Wow you are amazing! Thanks so much for sharing your cooking experience with us! I haven’t made koshian myself as it requires more steps… Your feedback will be very useful when I try! Thank you!!
Emily Bedson
Hello 😊 A similar thing happened to me recently. I used old beans and didn’t cook them for long enough. However, I found that if you if you steam the anko in small portions it cooks the beans which are still tough without drying out the mixture 😊
Nami
Thank you for sharing your tip Emily!
Darlene
Hi Nami,
I attempted to make the re bean paste today. It is cooling but I think there is too much liquid. Before adding the sugar, what should have been the level of water in the pot?
Nami
Hi Darlene! At step 9, when you draw a line on the bottom of the saucepan and see the surface for more than 2 seconds, add salt and turn off heat. Until then you reduce the water. 🙂
Taylor
I wanted to asking if adzuki beans were the same as azuki beans? They look the same but this is my first time making this so I wanted to make sure!
Nami
Hi Taylor! We spell Azuki in Japan, but I think Adzuki is also a correct spelling. 🙂
Sandra
Hi namiko! Love your recipes , thanks for the hard work ! It’d be great if u could produce a video on how to make anko 🙂 thanks a lot for considering ! Sandra
Nami
Thank you so much for your request, Sandra! I’ll put it on my list of videos to make… 🙂
Anuka
Hey!
I’ve tried this recipe before, but I normally use canned azuki beans and they come in 15oz cans, so I double up on the sugar, too. Is that wrong? Also, it always seems to harden because of the sugar… So what am I doing wrong?
Thank you for your help!
Nami
Hi Anuka! I’m sorry but this recipe is not for canned azuki beans. Are the canned beans already cooked? Seasoned, or just boiled? Sugar helps the azuki beans to be tender. 🙂
Hondo
4 1/2 hours (plus overnight soak) later finally have my chunky red bean paste. Was about to chuck my beans at the 3 hour simmer mark but I remembered reading in Mr. Ajikko (an old cooking manga) that a bit of baking soda softens beans. Gave it a shot. 1 hour later tender beans and half an hour later, got my paste chilling on the counter.
So if your beans are still hard after 2 hours of cooking, try adding 1/8 teaspoon baking soda for roughly every cup of bean. It’ll taste soapy and harsh (cause baking soda is an alkaline) if you add way too much.
Nami
Hi Hondo! Thanks so much for your helpful tip on baking soda! I never had to use it, but I’ll remember your tip in case anyone needs extra help. 🙂
Edison Eiji Inose
Hi.
Can I cook azuki red beans in a pressure cooker to make anko?
Nami
Hi Edison! Yes! I’m going to make a video… hopefully soon… 🙂 Hope you give it a try!
helene hanada
hi,
Since I do not own a pressure cooker, do you think I could use a slow cooker to make this instead of stove top version?
When I was younger, I’ve seen my mother & church members make this in a ‘kama’ so I know how long it takes to make it on the stove.
Thanks!
Nami
Hi Helene! Yes, you can use a slow cooker to make it. 🙂
Romi
hi! after soaking for about 20 hs and boiling for the first 5 minutes my beans were already quite soft, and then when i started the slower cooking proccess it took me about 15 minutes to get them easily smushed. do you think it is because it was too much soaking time? could this have any consequenses in the final product? Thanks in advance!!
Nami
Hi Romi! I’ve never soaked for 20 hours but we say that the bean shells break too easily and destroyed when we soak for too long (so we avoid doing that). If it’s Koshi-an (when it’s all mushy), maybe the texture may not matter too much, but I don’t know about nutritious value etc… It’s basically not recommended. 🙂
Rizq
Hi~! Just want to ask whether I can substitute adzuki red beans with red kidney beans ?
Nami
Hi Rizq! I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you need azuki beans to make red bean paste. Kidney beans are read, but this “red bean” paste is actually azuki bean paste and can’t be replaced… 🙂
NICK
Hello Nami!
I just finished TSUBUAN,Very successful! Thank you very much! 🙂
Nami
Hi Nick! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for your kind feedback!
buys
Who typed a complete lot to keep trim.
Mawichan
Hi! I soaked my beans for full 24 hours straight and even though I have been cooking them for about 4 hours already they are not turning soft at all.
To be specific, I can crush them with my fingers, but the outer skin is quite hard, the interior feels more like crumbles instead of starchy and the taste is nutty,reminds me of that of peanuts. My bet about the reason for the long cooking time is that the beans must be old.
Should I cook them more or start pouring the sugar as is?
Nami
Hi Mawichan! Azuki skin is very hard compared to other beans. So when you can crush with your fingers, you might still feel the skin is harder (than inside beans). I’m not sure how hard it was, but you could crush it – usually you can’t if it is chunky and not soft if it’s not cooked long enough. I’m sorry for my late response, but did you add sugar to the beans? How did they turn?
Mawichan
I let them cook for one more hour then added the sugar but not even the inside got soft. I even tried applying a little bit of baking soda.
Sadly I had to throw the beans away. They were unedible. The beans must have been very old. They didn’t look like it, and the bad had no expiration date to be seen (labels were in english, so no problem reading the package). I will try to get fresher beans next time. Meanwhile, I will have to use my family’s dulce de frijol recipe (a mexican recipe made of pinto beans and piloncillo, which is very similar to japanese black sugar) to fill my bread buns… Just a little twist I guess. Thank you for the reply, and for such an easy to understand recipe 🙂
Nami
I’m so sorry to hear you had to throw away. I hate when that happens (especially after so much prep involved!). I usually my beans at a Japanese market and there are enough demands that I never had bad ones so far and didn’t know azuki beans can become bad like that. It’s good to know. Hope next time will be better. Your filling idea sounds very good and delicious! ???? Thank you for your complement on my instructions.
Sanny
Hi!
I have done all the steps but the red bean turn out watery and the beans still in shape. The result is far from what tsubuan should be but the taste is quite similar. What should i do about it?
Nami
Hi Sanny! First of all, Azuki has pretty hard shell, so unless you pinch between your fingers to check hardness, you may not know if the azuki beans are cooked through. You mentioned “watery”. Did you put too much water when you are boiling? The water level should be “just” above the beans, so it shouldn’t be watery. What do you use this for? If it’s for Zsenzai (red bean soup) etc, you don’t need to worry about the amount of water, but if you are going to make paste, beans shouldn’t have too much water.
zuyi
Hi Nami!
I just made a batch of tsubuan specially for my husband who loves red bean! It was really nice! 🙂 I like it very much too.
Just a question. I felt that the appreance of my tsubuan looks a little dry whereas yours has some gloss. Did you add any oil to the paste? The only thing that I did differently was to use brown sugar instead of white sugar. thks! 🙂
Nami
Hi Zuyi! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I think, if you stopped cooking a few minutes earlier, it won’t be as dry. I mentioned at Step 9, but even though you stopped cooking, moisture will continue to evaporate and the final result will be thicker than when you stopped cooking. Hope this helps!
Aurora Jade
What type of beans can I use instead of Azuki beans?
Nami
Hi Aurora! I’m sorry, but this is azuki bean recipe (that’s the main ingredient), so you can’t quite substitute it. Azuki has hard shell outside that keeps the shape unlike other “red beans”. Sorry! Hope you can find these beans. I heard health product stores carry them, as well as whole foods (if you’re in the US). 🙂
Kaedi
It’s perfect! I just tried it today.
Nami
Thank you for your kind feedback Kaedi! 🙂
Femke
Hi Nami! Thank you for all your great recipes! I made this anko a couple of months ago and used it your Dorayaki recipe. It was a big succes! And now I want to make it again. But I was wondering if I can put it in the freezer. It’s a lot of work and then I can make it all in once and use it in parts. And do I have to do something with it to defrost it or just take it out and wait? Keep up the good work!
Nami
Hi Femke! Yay! So happy to hear you liked the anko and dorayaki recipes! Yes, you can freeze them, but recommend individually pack for whatever amount you’ll need, so you don’t have to deal with extra or not enough. I usually heat up with a tiny bit of water and let cool again before I use, but you can use it by just defrosting it. Thanks so much for your kind words and encouragement!
Kiki
What beans can I sub for adzuki?
Nami
Hi Kiki! Personally, I don’t think azuki beans can’t be substituted by another kind of beans. The taste and texture will be different. But I’m a azuki lover and I am very specific about this ingredient. Maybe if you’re not so much, you may be okay with other types of beans… but I’m not sure what will work. Someone mistakenly used “red bean” instead of azuki and I remember he/she said it wasn’t the same… 🙂
EDWARD D HAGERTY
I watched a movie called Sweet Bean about a Dorayaki Stand and in the movie this older woman teaches the man who operates the stand how to make a chunky red bean paste instead of the crappy bean paste he’s been buying in bulk from a supplier. At one point I assumed it was when sugar was being added It seemed like the guy reached into a container and scooped with his hands what seemed to be a clear sticky type of sugar about the size of a softball or a grapefruit worth. What type of sugar was that?
Nami
Hi Edward! I watched it this summer so I know what you’re talking about. That is called Mizu Ame. You can buy a small jar of mizu ame in a Japanese grocery store (probably not in Asian grocery stores).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mizuame
We usually buy it and don’t make it on our own… I didn’t use it because 90% of my readers probably can’t get it, and many people in Japan use regular sugar.
Cassie
I have a kiddo who doesn’t like to eat and needs to gain weight in addition to three other children who are of a healthy weight. I want easy-to-grab snacks for him that are not altogether unhealthy. I was very happy to learn about Taiyaki and found your anko recipe. I wanted to make a lot of this, so I put the entire 28oz bag of Bob’s Red Mill Adzuki Beans in a large crock pot (after rinsing) and let them cook most of the day until they were easily mashable. This allowed the beans to cook without my constant attention. I then transferred the cooked beans to a pot, added 2 cups of home-raised honey (we’re beekeepers), and water to cover, then cooked it all down as per your instructions. We ran the sweet beans through the food processor when finished. This turned out very sweet and tasty. I have never had traditional anko, so I do not know for sure how it compares, but my results were well received by my family.
I made up some boxed waffle mix and filled two Cake Pop pans. I used a melon baller to add anko to each pop of batter, then covered the exposed anko with a little more waffle batter. I cooked both trays in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes. We have anko left over to make more of these since I made so much. I expect my results are similar to Imagawayaki. My kids absolutely love these treats and we call them waffle poppers.
Thank you so much for all of your information on Taiyaki and anko! This has really helped me make a high-protein treat that appeals to the children’s desire for sweets. I hope this helps my little one gain some needed weight.
Nami
Hi Cassie! Wow, thank you so much for your sweet and kind feedback. First of all, I’m really happy to hear your children enjoyed anko treats! You did such a wonderful job making “waffle poppers” and they sound wonderful! Thanks for sharing your detailed tip with me and JOC readers!
Krystine
Hi Nami,
I just tried out this recipe yesterday afternoon, and it was really a great lesson on how to make bean paste! As you warned, it does take 1+ hours (it took me about 90 minutes for my beans to be cooked through). However, I ended up with a purplish paste that tasted delicious! The only change I made was reducing the amount of sugar; I just added sugar in until it was the right amount of sweetness for my family and me (surprisingly, about 75 to 100 grams? We really like a light sweetness, I guess!). Thank you so much for the recipe! I’ll be making anpan this coming weekend with my sister, and I’m sure we’ll enjoy it!
Nami
Hi Krystine! Thank you so much for your feedback. Japanese anko is pretty sweet (kind of like western sweetness in cake etc). Store-bought anko is much sweeter too. Sugar helps the anko stay more soft instead of harden paste. Also sugar keeps anko stay longer (as preservative). Hope you enjoy making anpan! 😀
Mia
Thank you so much for this recipe! Can this method also be used to make shiroan?
Nami
Hi Mia! Shiroan is made a bit differently. You can check this video as reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUU_9db76HE
dea kepic
heyy.. Can I make koshian without the pressure cooker ? Can I use an immersion blender or what do I do ? I want to have a smooth paste 🙂
Nami
Hi Dea! Sure, you can. It won’t be a “short cut” though. If you have a fine sieve, the traditional way is to press cooked red beans through the sieve and you get the finest paste… 🙂
Flora
Hi, when is the sugar added for the red bean paste?
Nami
Hi Flora, at step 9. 🙂
Daffy
Hi, can you make koshian without pressure cooker? Since i dont have one and i want to make koshian. Thank you
Nami
Hi Daffy! I did make it and here’s the link. Just FYI, this is a short cut version, not proper traditional way… skipping some steps.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-anko-red-bean-paste/
Angelica
Is there any substitute for the azuki beans? I can’t order online because they are for a school project due in 3 days.
Nami
Hi Angelica! I am so sorry for my late response. What did you need red bean paste for? If you are making sweets with red bean paste (like Dorayaki or Taiyaki), you can fill with Nutella or custard. But if red bean paste is the main topic… it’s hard… other “red beans” are not the same. Skins are thinner compared to hard shell azuki beans. I don’t think it has the same color at the end. Sorry I wish I knew best substitute for your school project.
NW
Hi Nami, do you think I can cook it in a slow cooker? I don’t have a pressure cooker so I am trying to find an alternative way so I don’t have to stay in the kitchen 1+ hour 🙂
Nami
Hi NW! Yes you can. Some JOC told me they have tried it. 🙂
Mai
Hello Nami-san,
Thank you for this recipe! I made anko (koshian) a couple of days ago, using unrefined brown sugar instead of regular white one, and it was so yummy. All gone, already 🙁
Mai
Nami
Hi Mai! Wonderful! So happy that you tried making anko from scratch. Tastes so much better. 🙂
Howard
why not leave it in the pot?
Nami
Hi Howard! Which step? Last step? It takes a longer time to cool down in a hot pot. 🙂
Aimee Inouye
How do you make (flakey) Yaki Manju?
Nami
Hi Aimee! I’ll add to the list. 🙂 Thank you for your request!
Gracy Glacier
Hi.. just found your site today while looking for red bean paste bun recipe. Can you tell when to add the sugar into? In your instruction, only mention to add salt. Thanks.
Nami
Hi Gracy! It’s step 10. You gradually add the sugar. 🙂
Sakinah
I had soaked the beans and they weren’t red like the picture is it still ok I’m finished a paste and it turned out like the steps but it is purplish like light purplish is it still good
Nami
Hi Sakinah! Red bean paste is not red like red ink color – it’s more like dark purple color (I don’t know English name for it, as we call it Azuki color in Japan! Haha).
Joyce
Hi Nami,
I love red bean bun but the sugar level is very high. Im trying to cut down my sugar intake. Is it possible to replace sugar with stevia. If yes, whats the measurement for it?
Nami
Hi Joyce! You can cut down on sugar if you like, but I had never tried making this with stevia before, so I can’t tell how it will turn out… If I were you, I would cut down on sugar….. 🙂
Hemma
AAAAAAAA! IT WORKED! followed this recipe to the letter and it turned out perfect! Thank you!!
Nami
Hi Hemma! I’m so happy to hear that! Yay! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
Sara
I’m curious if you’ve ever tried or seen anko canned (I mean home made anko then preserved in jam jars and heat sealed).
Nami
Hi Sara! No, I usually freeze anko…. never can it before. It’s commonly frozen in Japan, and I didn’t think about canning before. I quickly checked in Japanese, and I haven’t found a method. Almost all sites recommend freezing for a longer preservation.
Elyse Cunningham
Thank you for posting this recipe; it is one of my go to sweet desserts. I do have a question, I’d like to remove the skins from the beans and I was curious when do you do that? After the filling is made or before making the filling? (I don’t have a pressure cooker and have to do it the old fashioned way through a sieve). Thank you.
Nami
Hi Elyse! I’m happy to hear you enjoy anko too! You can remove the skin by passing through a a fine mesh sieve. However, we can only make Koshian (fine texture red bean paste) as you will be pressing beans hard to pass through the sieve. Hope this makes sense. 🙂