Making Sweet Red Bean Paste (Anko) from scratch is easier than you think. You only need azuki beans, sugar, water, and salt! Here, I’ll show you the two varieties: Tsubuan (chunky paste) and Koshian (fine paste). Once you master the basic Anko recipe, you’ll be able to make many delicious Japanese sweets at home.
Do you love Japanese sweets and desserts? If you’re like me who enjoy eating them all, then it’s time to make Anko (餡子) aka sweet red bean paste! It is the most basic and favorable filling in traditional Japanese confectionary and pastry.
Whether it’s Daifuku Mochi, Dango, Dorayaki, Taiyaki, Manju, or Anpan, they are filled with Anko and bursting with the deep, sweet flavor of red beans. So let’s learn how to make Anko red bean paste today!
What is Anko?
Sometimes known as An (餡), Anko (餡子, あんこ) is a Japanese sweet red bean paste made from azuki beans. It is the most common filling used in many Japanese sweets. In fact, you can find sweet bean paste in many other Asian pastries and desserts.
In Japanese cooking, the word “Anko” or “An” usually refers to a red bean paste, but it also implies other varieties such as:
- Shiroan (白あん) – made from lima beans or butter beans. Learn more about it on White Bean Paste (Shiroan) post.
- Kurian (栗あん) – made from chestnuts.
How to Make Anko?
It is usually prepared by boiling azuki beans, sometimes mashing them, and then sweetening the paste with sugar.
Azuki, or sometimes written as Adzuki, literally means ‘small beans (小豆)’ in Japanese. Japanese azuki beans are mostly cultivated in the Hokkaido area. The bigger variety of azuki beans is called Dainagon (大納言) and it is slightly more expensive than Azuki beans.
You can find azuki beans from Japanese grocery stores or health food stores.
Two Types of Anko (Red Bean Paste)
There are two most common types of red bean paste:
- Tsubuan (粒あん) – The paste has a chunky texture with bean shapes still intact.
- Koshian (こしあん) – The paste has a fine, smooth texture.
How Do We Choose Which One to Use in Recipes?
There’s no strict rule to this. Just like peanut butter, you can choose chunky versus smooth texture based on your preference. I personally prefer chunky beans in Japanese confectioneries and pastry, so I’d always make Tsubuan for Daifuku Mochi and Anpan,
1. How to Make Tsubu-an (Chunky Red Bean Paste)
Tsubuan (粒あん) is prepared by boiling the azuki beans and sweetening with sugar. Bean skins are still left in the paste and the beans are not fully “mashed” although some of them are crushed or mashed during cooking.
I usually make Tsubuan because I prefer the texture and it’s also very easy to make!
2. How to Make Koshi-an (Fine Red Bean Paste)
Traditionally, Koshian (こしあん) requires more steps to prepare. After cooking the beans, you will have to:
- Pass the cooked azuki beans through a fine-mesh sieve to remove the bean skins. You may need to add water to help sift the beans through with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Put the mashed beans in a large bowl and fill up with water. Let the mashed beans settle naturally for 30 minutes, then discard the water. Repeat the same process, the second time for 15 minutes, and the third time for 5 minutes, until the water is clear.
- After you discard the water, transfer to a clean cotton cloth (or cheesecloth) to strain out most of the liquid. You will now have a fine, smooth paste.
- Transfer the bean paste to the pot and combine with sugar and salt. Reduce until thicker paste and Koshian is made!
That’s a lot of physical work!
So these days, the home cooks just turn on the food processor to make the fine paste, without removing the bean skins! Personally, I do not see a big difference in the Koshian between the traditional, time-consuming method and the food processor method.
In this recipe, I’ll show you the food processor method. You can use a blender too.
5 Useful Tips for Making Anko At Home
1. No More Soaking Azuki Beans Overnight
In my previous recipe, I soaked the azuki beans in water overnight. I was taught by my grandma that azuki beans have very hard skin so it’s good to soak.
However, these days many articles and recipes mention that we do not need to soak azuki beans anymore. For the first 4 hours, azuki beans do not absorb any water and require 18 hours to soak. Therefore, it’s recommended to just start cooking right away.
I have been following the new method and I actually don’t see any difference from my previous recipe. Now I can make Anko when I want to make it and I do not need to wait overnight!
2. Boiling and Throwing Water Away
The reason why we boil the azuki beans and throw away the water is to remove the astringency (shibumi in Japanese 渋み) of the food. We use the same technique for cooking bamboo and bitter gourd.
I do it just once, while some people do it twice or three times. It’s up to you, but I’ve been doing just once and it’s okay with me.
3. The Bean to Sugar Ratio
In general, the bean to sugar ratio for Anko is 1 to 1, an equal amount. For home use, you can reduce the sugar to your liking.
However, before doing so, please note the followings:
- The sugar is to preserve the paste for a longer time. If you reduce the sugar, Anko is not well-suited for keeping for a longer time.
- Anko can be the only “sweet” element for the confectionary you’re making. The mochi, the dough, or the batter you’re preparing to go with Anko may not be sweetened.
In this recipe, for 200 grams of azuki beans, I suggested the sugar amount to be 175-200 grams of sugar 1: 0.9-1, which is slightly less than an equal amount.
4. Add A Pinch of Salt to Sweeten
You may wonder why salt when you are making sweet red bean paste.
A bit of salt is used as a flavor enhancer because it will reduce bitterness, but increase sweetness and umami which is desirable for sweet recipes. So instead of increasing the amount of sugar, add a pinch of salt to enhance the sweetness first.
5. Stop Cooking When You Can Draw a Line…
As soon as you can draw a line with a spatula on the bottom of the pot, transfer the red bean paste to a baking sheet or a flat wide-surface tray and cool immediately.
Remember the moisture will continue to evaporate with remaining heat and the paste will thicken further as it cools.
Making Anko with a Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)
If you own a pressure cooker such as an Instant Pot, it’s so much easier and faster to make red bean paste. Check out my Pressure Cooker Anko recipe for details.
White Bean Paste (Shiroan 白餡)
As mentioned earlier, sweet bean paste is not only made from azuki beans but also made from white beans. White Bean Paste (Shiroan) is another common filling for Japanese confectionery such as mochi and manju.
The paste has a milder bean taste, so it makes a great alternative to red bean paste if that’s what you prefer.
Make More Anko for Later Use
You can store the red bean paste in the freezer for up to 2 months! It’s such a treat to have it on hand, and more reasons to enjoy Japanese sweets for your afternoon tea.
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want to look for substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
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Sweet Red Bean Paste (Tsubuan & Koshian)
Ingredients
- 7 oz Azuki beans (a little bit less than 1 cup)
- Water
- ¾ - 1 cup sugar
- ½ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Rinse azuki beans and discard broken ones.
- Transfer the drained azuki beans to a large pot. Add water till 1-2 inches above azuki beans. Turn the heat on high.
- Bring the water to boil over medium high heat.
- Once boiling, discard the water and put the azuki beans back into the same pot.
- Add water till 1-2 inches above azuki beans.
- Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, put an otoshibuta (drop lid) over the azuki beans (Otoshibuta will prevent the beans from dancing around too much). Turn down the heat to medium-low and keep it simmering for the next 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Water will evaporate so you need to keep adding water so the beans are submerged. After 1 hour, pick one bean and mash it with your fingers. If it is mashed easily, it's done.
To Make Tsubuan (Chunky Red Bean Paste)
- Drain the azuki beans over a sieve.
- Put the beans in the same pot. Turn the heat to medium-low heat and add half of the sugar.
- Mix well with the azuki beans. Once sugar is dissolved, add the rest of the sugar.
- Mix, stirring constantly and add the salt.
- If you plan to use red bean for Zenzai (Oshiruko), you can use it right away. If you prefer a thicker version, reduce the soup.
- Let the moisture evaporate. When you can draw a line on the bottom of the pot, turn off the heat. Don't worry if it's still loose; Anko will continue to thicken as it cools. Transfer to a flat baking sheet to let cool completely. Tsubuan is ready to use. Scroll down to see how to store it.
To Make Koshian (Fine Red Bean Paste)
- Drain the azuki beans over a sieve, reserving some cooking liquid.
- Transfer the beans to a food processor. Add 1-2 Tbsp cooking liquid if necessary and run the food processor until the beans become a fine paste.
- Transfer the fine paste back into the same pot. Turn the heat to medium-low heat and add half of the sugar.
- Mix well with the bean paste. Once sugar is dissolved, add the rest of the sugar.
- Let the moisture evaporate, stirring constantly. Add the salt.
- When you can draw a line on the bottom of the pot, turn off the heat. Don't worry if it's still loose; Anko will continue to thicken as it cools. Transfer to a flat baking sheet to let cool completely. Koshian is ready to use.
To Store
- If you're not using the red bean paste right away, you can transfer the red bean paste in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. You can also divide and wrap 100 g of red bean paste in a plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag. When you’re ready to use, you can defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Tip: Compared to store-bought red bean paste, the amount of sugar used for homemade Anko is not enough to keep for a long time.
Make Delicious Recipes with Anko:
- Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku)
- Mizu Yokan
- Daifuku Mochi
- Dorayaki (Japanese Red Bean Pancake)
- Red Bean Ice Cream
- Taiyaki
- Zenzai/Oshiruko (Red Bean Soup)
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on March 12, 2012. The new images are added and the recipe instruction is slightly updated in March 2020.
Do you recommend using brown cane sugar, regular white granulated sugar or normal brown sugar?
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. 🙂
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.
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!
Hi Nami,
I was boiling the red beans, but the beans were still hard even after 2 hours. I had soaked for more than 12 hours before boiling. Is there something I had done wrong? Was I supposed to boil with or without the lid? Thank you.
Hi Rachel! I apologize for my late response. Hmm I’m not too sure. Do you think 2.5 hours would make a difference? You can do with our without the lid, but the water should be always above the beans. 🙂
If the bean are old, it will take longer to cook!
Hi Fatima! That is true! Thank you very much for your input.🙂
What about making the beans, especially if used in pancakes, without sugar? I would prefer to have a bean base to add to pancakes and just use a small amount of sugar when making the pancakes. Can that be done?
Hi Jon! You can make the beans until you add the sugar. Now, sugar is used here as preservatives too. So if you don’t plan to keep, make a small amount? I make regular anko and make pancakes too. And yes, feel free to adjust the amount of sugar.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/red-bean-pancake/
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.
Hi Giovanna! I’m glad this recipe worked out for you! Thank you so much for letting me know! 🙂
Hello!
Could you tell me what exactly cooking liquid is?
Thanks!
Hi Carmen! It’s the liquid that you pour from the pot during Step 1 “Drain the azuki beans over a sieve, reserving some cooking liquid”. Don’t throw away – you may need some cooking liquid to loosen the paste.
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,
Hi Heidi! Thanks for your feedback! The Japanese loves sweeten red bean sweets. I hope she will enjoy this! 🙂
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?
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. 🙂
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! 🙂
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!
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! 🙂
You’re welcome! Thank you very much for your feedback!
How many cups is 7oz of beans and 7 oz sugar? I have standard U.S. measuring cups but no scale.
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.
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!
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.
Hi Mellow! I’m glad to hear you liked this recipe! I hope you enjoy dorayaki too! 😀
Thank you so much Nami for this recipe! I have just successfully made my first dorayaki 🙂
Hi Gemma! Yay! Thank you so much for letting me know. So happy to hear you made dorayaki. Hope you enjoy eating now…. hehee 🙂
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!
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. 🙂
Thank you so much!! Can’t wait to try it.
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.
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. 🙂
Can i use normal red bean to make this?
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. 🙂
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?
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. 🙂
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 :))
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. 🙂
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 🙂
Hi Ega! It looks great! Thanks so much for trying this recipe. I’m glad some of the color came back. 🙂
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?
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. 🙂
I made this recipe using normal red bean that I find at my bakery store and it turned out really good! Currently letting it cool down so I can freeze it and use it when I’m making buns as filling. Thank you so much for the easy recipe ❤
Hi Ami! I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you so much for your feedback! Hope you enjoy making red bean buns. YUMMY!
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.
Thank you so much for your comment and help, Alice! 🙂
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Measurements in cups!
Hi Rebecca! It’s hard to be precise with cup, but the recipe is now updated. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, how long will the paste be good for if kept in freezer? Thanks.
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!
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! 🙂
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!
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.
Thanks Trudy! This is very helpful! I’ll let Nicole know. 🙂
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
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. 🙂
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.
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 🙂
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
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!
Hi Nami! I love your web page! I’m a fan :o)
Do you know how long it last in the fridge?
Thanks!
Hi Paola! Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂 In fridge, about a week, and about a month in freezer. 🙂
Thank you very much for your quick answer. I will let you know how it turned out (both anko and daifuku) 🙂
Greetings from Uruguay!!!
Hope you enjoy this anko recipe! Thank you so much for reading my blog from Uruguay! 🙂
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!
Hi Pat! I’m glad everyone (but your mom – haha) liked it! Thank you so much for your feedback. 🙂
Can I use another red beans? Not the azuki red beans? It’s hard to find it in my town
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. 🙂
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
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. 🙂
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!
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… 🙂
I think you can get azuki beans on amazon.
Thank you for your input Sara! 🙂
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.
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
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! 🙂
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?
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!
Hi Bill! No problem! Sorry I didn’t realize it earlier too. 🙂
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!
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. 🙂
Turned out perfectly! Thank you!
Thank you so much for your feedback! I’m so glad it turned out well! 🙂
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:)
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. 🙂
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.
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. 🙂
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! 🙂
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!
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! 😀
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.
in step 1, when you say to soak the beans overnight, how many hours would you say is “overnight?”
Overnight usually means 8-12 hours. I updated my recipe with the info. Thank you!
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.
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. 🙁
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.
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. 😀
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.
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!
Have you ever done this in bulk, say 20 bags of beans at once?
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!
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!
Will update if I run into any issues. Arigato gozaimasu for the quick reply! Aloha
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! 🙂
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
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!
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
Hi Matiwariat! So glad to hear my step by step pictures were helpful. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
How long can you keep Anko?
I’m not quite sure if I’m going to use it up in one time.
Thank you :))
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. 🙂
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
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!
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
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. 🙂
Can i use regular red beans?
Hi Mika! If you are going to make anko, please use azuki (or adzuki) beans. Thank you. 🙂
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
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. 🙂
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.
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… :/
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
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!
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.
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. 🙂
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
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!
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! 🙂
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! 😀
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?
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… 🙂
can I stir beans during second boiling time? Or wait until they’re fully cooked?
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. 😀
I made this yesterday and it turned out wonderful! Thank you for sharing this.
Hi Elyse! Awesome!!! I’m so glad to hear yours came we well! 🙂
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 ?
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. 🙂
Would you recommend that we purée the cooked red beans before we pack it in individual portion?
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. 🙂
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
Hihi can I use small red beans as a substitute for azuki beans?
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…
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.
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… 🙁
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!!
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!
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 !
Hi Ahomiya! Thank you so much for your kind words. Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
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) 😀
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. 😉
wouldnt it be easier to just preasure cook the beans?
Sure! If you have one you can use it to cook this, and it’ll be much faster. 🙂
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?
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! 🙂
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!
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!
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!
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! 🙂
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 😀
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!
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
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!!
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 ????
Thank you for sharing your tip Emily!
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?
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. 🙂
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!
Hi Taylor! We spell Azuki in Japan, but I think Adzuki is also a correct spelling. 🙂
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
Thank you so much for your request, Sandra! I’ll put it on my list of videos to make… 🙂
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!
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. 🙂
Hi! I successfully made this recipe using canned Azuki beans without added salt (Eden Organic brand). I searched for a conversion from dried beans to canned beans, and two 15-oz cans of beans is actually equivalent to 7 oz dried beans. Maybe your paste hardened because it had too much sugar?
I made Nami’s recipe as written, except for substituting two 15-oz cans of beans (with 200g sugar). I did have to add extra Tbs of cooking liquid when processing it, so check your texture. The end result turned out just like when I used dried beans, possibly even smoother. Good luck!
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.
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. 🙂
Hi.
Can I cook azuki red beans in a pressure cooker to make anko?
Hi Edison! Yes! I’m going to make a video… hopefully soon… 🙂 Hope you give it a try!
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!
Hi Helene! Yes, you can use a slow cooker to make it. 🙂
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!!
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. 🙂
Hi~! Just want to ask whether I can substitute adzuki red beans with red kidney beans ?
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… 🙂
Hello Nami!
I just finished TSUBUAN,Very successful! Thank you very much! 🙂
Hi Nick! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for your kind feedback!
Who typed a complete lot to keep trim.
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?
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?
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 🙂
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.
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?
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.
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! 🙂
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!
What type of beans can I use instead of Azuki beans?
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). 🙂
It’s perfect! I just tried it today.
Thank you for your kind feedback Kaedi! 🙂
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!
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!
What beans can I sub for adzuki?
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… 🙂
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?
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.
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.
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!
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!
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! 😀
Thank you so much for this recipe! Can this method also be used to make shiroan?
Hi Mia! Shiroan is made a bit differently. You can check this video as reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUU_9db76HE
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 🙂
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… 🙂
Hi, when is the sugar added for the red bean paste?
Hi Flora, at step 9. 🙂
Hi, can you make koshian without pressure cooker? Since i dont have one and i want to make koshian. Thank you
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/
Is there any substitute for the azuki beans? I can’t order online because they are for a school project due in 3 days.
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.
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 🙂
Hi NW! Yes you can. Some JOC told me they have tried it. 🙂
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
Hi Mai! Wonderful! So happy that you tried making anko from scratch. Tastes so much better. 🙂
why not leave it in the pot?
Hi Howard! Which step? Last step? It takes a longer time to cool down in a hot pot. 🙂
How do you make (flakey) Yaki Manju?
Hi Aimee! I’ll add to the list. 🙂 Thank you for your request!
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.
Hi Gracy! It’s step 10. You gradually add the sugar. 🙂
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
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).
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?
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….. 🙂
AAAAAAAA! IT WORKED! followed this recipe to the letter and it turned out perfect! Thank you!!
Hi Hemma! I’m so happy to hear that! Yay! Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 🙂
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).
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.
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.
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. 🙂
Super!
Thank you Thomas!
I cook from your site often and am a huge fan, and this is the first time a recipe has fully failed me. I ended up with very dry beans. Either I didn’t let enough water evaporate before adding the sugar or maybe I was supposed to drain in between adding sugar in the prior snap… I don’t know all I know is that I definitely did not make anko でもあきらめない。いつも頑張ります。
こんにちは、エリン！ Thanks so much for trying my recipes! I’m sorry this recipe didn’t turn out well. Water will continue to evaporate so you need to keep adding water to cover just above the beans. This is why making anko on the stovetop is tedious work. You can’t add more water than just above the beans, but you also can’t let it evaporated. So when you mash the beans to check if it’s done, the water should be STILL just above the beans. Then you add sugar in 3 separate times and let the beans absorb sugar until almost no water (see the bottom of the pan when you draw a line with a spatula). Remaining heat will continue to cook and evaporate water, so you don’t have to reduce so much. No need to evaporate water before adding sugar or no need to drain water before adding sugar. How come you still ended up with “very dry” beans with liquid? Did you use the right Azuki beans? Let me know your thoughts. I’ll be happy to help!
Which type of paste is better for dorayaki? Chunky or smooth?
Hi Sabrina! Dorayaki has both kinds, so it’s really up to you! My personal preference is chunky kind “Tsubuan”. 🙂
Very clear recipes and easy to understand.
Thank you very much!!
Hi Kirana! Thank you so much for the kind words! 🙂 xo
hi there..
I want to learn how to make Obanyaki /Imagawayaki in Japan .
Would you please tell me where I can learn to make Obanyaki /Imagawayaki?
i want know about the fill in or the ingredient for the Obanyaki / imagawayaki
example : (Azuki Bean 紅豆 / red bean , Vanilla Custard , Matcha ).
some people tell me , about the recipe but , i need the one who can teach me in japan.
(how to make it from the basic)
I can go anywhere in Japan. Please let me know.
Thank you.
Hi Winz! I am not familiar with a school/class/workshop that teaches how to make obanyaki/imagawayaki. I wish I know, sorry.
Many thanks, this made really nice red bean paste. If I could make a suggestion – if one processes the beans very lightly, the skins can be separated out using a Mouli food mill fitted with the finest plate (but do it in about 3 batches for the quantity given above). This gives a very smooth paste and is much easier than forcing the paste through a sieve to remove the skins.
Hi John! Thank you for your kind feedback and your tip! I don’t own a Mouli food mill, but maybe it’s nice to invest one. 🙂
Just found this site looking for red bean paste. I’m regular old American eating regular old American food but have been trying other cultural foods. Really looking forward to trying some of your recipes! They look so delicious!
Hi Dana! Aww thank you so much! And welcome to Just One Cookbook! I hope you find some Japanese recipes that inspire you to try at home! 🙂
I made the pressure cooker version yesterday and it turned out fantastic. I made 2 cups and increased the water and sugar. I made red bean boba smoothies with some of the Anko last night. Right now I’m making the Dorayaki pancakes and will use the rest of the Anko. I burned a few pancakes but it’s okay I like a slight burnt (koge) (spelling is probably incorrect) taste. I’m enjoying making your recipes. My Mom is from Kagoshima so she taught me to cook Japanese foods. Thank you for your tutorials. You are so adorable!
Hi Gina! Awww it seems like you love anko as much as I do too! 🙂 Super happy to hear you’re making so many red bean recipes! We went to Kagoshima this summer and it’s so beautiful there. We love Kyushu and its food. Thank you so much for trying out my recipes and for your kind feedback. By the way, koge or okoge is correct. 🙂
Yes, I love anko and sometimes I eat a teaspoon of it for a quick sweet. I love it in shave ice especially!
I love Kagoshima! I’ve only been there twice but when I was very young like 2 and 7 years old. The second time I do remember the snow and my auntie Sayoko and Eiji’s house. They had the old type toilet that’s like a hole and a long way down. I also remember going to an ofuro. Yes, Kyushu food is very delicious. I love breakfast with natto, yamaimo, fish, and miso soup. My mom taught me how to make chawanmushi and it is one of my kid’s favorites. I saw you have a recipe for it as well so I might try your recipe soon.
Tonight I made Tamagoyaki ( burnt it a little but still tasty) and Oyakodon and my family and I loved it. The broth is so oishi!
I enjoy your recipes so much and follow along with your videos as I go. My mom called me after I sent her a picture of Daifuku mochi and her Japanese friend Chieko both wanted the recipe!
Oh ya~I bought the whisk you use and it comes as a 2 pack. I used it tonight and love it compared to the other type I normally use.
Thank you so much!
Hi Gina! You have such fond memories of your trips to Japan and I can imagine the scene. It’s wonderful that you continue to make food you enjoyed growing up too. As I get older, I miss eating more simple food and Japanese food always gives me comfort when I eat. Even simplest grilled fish, rice, and miso soup! I hope you enjoy making more Japanese food at home. And I’m glad you liked the whisk (flat whisk, right? Now it comes with 2? Wonderful!!). Happy cooking, and stay in touch!
What should the beans be like after soaking? I’ve never soaked dry beans before and they seem quite hard 🙁
I’ve tried a large handful of your recipes so far and have loved them all. Thank you for so many useful recipes and tips!
Hi Lissa! Azuki beans are known to be very hard (even after soaking the beans – for example, some beans gets soft enough that you can peel the skin, but not azuki beans. And you have to cook for a long time to get tender). I’m so glad my recipes worked out for you. Thank you for letting me know! I’m happy to hear that! 🙂 xo
Hi Nami.
I have just finished making the bean paste. My husband is mashing it up as I am typing this. I am super excited, I had a taste and it was wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing all these wonderful Japanese recipes. Next up, I will be trying my hand at making mochi with the anko bean paste I just made.
Hi Mastura! I’m excited! I hope you enjoy making mochi with anko filling! Mochi is hard to deal with, but believe me, you will get used to it and avoid how to avoid being sticky as you practice. 🙂 Wishing you good luck!
How much salt do you recommend to add to the final step when taking it off heat?
Hi Thomas! Just a pinch. It enhances the sweetness and makes it a sharp taste. 🙂
How did you make the beans into the paste after cooking?
Hi Marie! Do you mean fine paste (called Koshian)? Then please check this post for the instructions: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-anko-red-bean-paste/
English translation for “anko” is red bean “paste”. However, it’s not always pasty form like Koshian (fine anko). Tsubuan is coarse anko and it’s more chunky, which is shown in my recipe. 🙂
Morning Joanne:
I was wondering if once the paste is made, can it be frozen?
Hi Charlie! Yes, you can freeze it. 🙂
Thank you, Thank you!
I am trying to write down a recipe for your Daifukumochi and it said that I needed Red Bean Paste, so I looked on here hoping to find the recipe for the Koshian Red Bean Paste, but sadly didn’t. Can you please tell me how to make the Koshian style and if I just need to smash the beans instead.
Thanks!
Sorry, ma’am. I found the link in the comments. 😅
Hi Mina! I’m sorry my instruction wasn’t clear. I added the step for Koshian. One day I can add more step by step pictures for Koshian. Thank you for bringing it to my attention!
Nami: I need some help.
I made the red bean paste. It turned out a great consistency.
However, it turned from the lovely dark red to a light red-pinkish colour when blitzed.
Also, it doesn’t seem to have the umami that the red paste sesame balls have that I order from the Japanese restaurant. Those you just close your eyes and savour the filling. Compared, these are on the bland side.
Do you have any suggestions to give the paste that extra oomph?
Hi Charlie! I apologize for my late response. Thank you for trying this recipe!
1) I know what you’re talking about. It’s less red color too when I make it. When you use a food processor, the color does look lighter. You can probably run food processor first before adding sugar. You may want to remove the moisture as much as possible and mix it with sugar in the post. This is a Japanese site (http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~pour-les-petits/sikousakugo-koshiann-01.html), but you see how the beans get very dark at the end after so many steps of the filtering process? I will have to try making koshian. It’s not my favorite, so I don’t typically make koshian. 🙂
2) Some people add a bit of brown sugar and soy sauce to add more savory umami taste. You can add more sugar and salt too, because typically the amount of sugar the restaurants or shops use for their red bean paste is not reserved. It has a stronger taste.
Thank you Nami!!
This is a big help.
Merry Christmas
Glad to hear that. Happy Holidays!
Is there some way to prep the azuki ahead of time? And store for awhile?
Hi Maya! Do you mean anko (azuki bean paste)? Yes, you can freeze it too. 🙂
Hi,
I was wondering if adding baking powder will help in this recipe. I use baking powder for my “frijoles refritos” and other savory mashed beans recipes. It helps for obtaining softer beans.
Hi Ricardo! It’s not standard to add baking powder in anko… and I’ve never heard of the recipe using it. 🙂
I will try and let you know if there any different 😁😁😁
Keep me posted, Ricardo! xo
I used to get them from the market in Asia. Living in North America now, I thought I would not get to eat as much as I like anymore as they are so expensive here and the dough is so sticky I’d never learn to make it.
You made your recipes so easy to follow!
I made Daifuku and Anpan today following your recipes and they turned out a big success!
Thank you very much, Nami!
Hi Evelyn! Aww, I’m so happy and excited to hear about your Daifuku and Anpan with homemade Anko! Thanks for your kind feedback and for making me happy!
Thanks for this recipe.
Is it ok to replace sugar with honey?
Hi Alvin! I’ve never tried it myself but some people tried with 1:1 ratio (beans: honey) and it worked great. 🙂
Hello,
So this weekend I have a project of making daifuku mochi from scratch (I’m gonna even try the mochi with the stand mixer recipe).
I started with the anko paste, I added baking powder for cooking (my standard method for beans, chickpeas, etc). It seems it helps for obtaining a smooth result. I also added a pinch of salt at this point based on Kenji-Lopez recommendations.
I was surprised of the flavor of azuki without sugar, they taste like beans but “smoother” (“beans of silk” I would say).
So I was a little nervous because I wanted to use less sugar but at the end it turned great! I used 2:1 dried beans to sugar ratio. I also added some salt crystals at the end.
I took note regarding the conservation consequences of using less sugar 😉
I was wondering ,what about using raw sugar (piloncillo or panela) ? I think the flavor of the raw sugar will enhance the azuki paste. I will give it a try later and let you know ^^
Thank you for your recipe and advices!
Hi Ricardo! I looked into the type of sugar before and I learned that in Japan Anko is always made with white granulated sugar (Johakuto 上白糖) to retain the azuki’s original flavor. It’s considered flavor-less sugar compared to other types (I thought it’s an interesting reason). 🙂
😮 good to know, I think it’s a continuity of my perception of Japanese cuisine, minimalist and always looking for the purest expression of ingredients. 🙂
🙂 Thank you Ricardo!
If you freeze it, how do you thaw it for your daifuku recipe? Do you thaw in the fridge overnight?
Hi Vivian! It might not be defrosted all the way in the fridge, but you should start defrosting there – it might take 1-2 days, and while you’re making it maybe take out to bring to room temperature?
Hi Nami! So excited to try your Manju recipe this weekend, but I’m having trouble finding dry Azuki beans right now (probably because of the pandemic). Whole Foods carries organic Azuki beans, but they are pre-cooked. Do you think if I heat these up to the mashable step it would work okay? Thank you!
Hi Cachae! So sorry I couldn’t respond in time. How did it go? I never used WF’s precooked Kazuki beans. Are they sweet already? I think you can… but hard to tell without seeing it myself. 😀
Hello! Do you match the 1:1 sugar/bean ratio to the uncooked or cooked beans?
Hi Kelly! It’s uncooked azuki beans. 🙂
Hi!
I need some help, I followed your recipe (except the drop lid, because I didn’t have one) and I had to let my azuki cook for 4h30. Do you by chance know why that would be the case?
Nonetheless the result was good, but not as good as certain comment let it seems. So I am a little in a predicament…
Hi Angel! Did you cook the same amount of azuki beans? 4 hours and 30 minutes are definitely too long. Do you think the beans were tender earlier but you weren’t sure? Azuki bean skin is hard so it’s possible that you may felt it’s not cooked through but inside could be already soft. That’s what I am thinking…
I cooked 200g of azuki beans. And at 1h, I took one and tried to mash it but I had to apply a bit of force to do it, and it was more breaking than mashing, so I let them simmer longer, then repeat the process at 1h30, 2h,etc… and it was the same result. I grew a little impatient at 4h30 so I went to the next step, and the paste is more or less like your pics (I made the tsubuan) but the chunks seems too “crunchy” (like not cooked enough) to my tasters (who like anko very much 🙂 )
Do I have to do something specific for the skin?
Hi Angel! Thank you for your explanation again! From the description, it seems like what you did was necessary. But I’m curious if your azuki is a different variety. Because of the hard skin on Azuki, some recipes recommend pre-soaking and I have done in the past. In recent years we found that you have to soak more than 18-24 hours to actually soften the skin to make it tender, so it’s no longer required to soak the skin. So there is not much to do. I’m surprised it takes 4 hours though. 🙁
can i make this with already boiled beans in cans from the grocery store
Hi Riyaq! If azuki beans… yes, you mean to add sugar and cook, right? I’m not sure how firm the beans are… usually when you make anko, the beans are mashed really easy… but I’m afraid the boiled beans being firmer. 🙁 If so, you’ll get super chunky paste.
Thank you so very much for the Anko recipe. Mochi with anko is one of my favorite Japanese snacks, next to the various ozembe [did I spell it right ?] I always grab.
However, you did not show how to make the mochi skin. Would appreciate if you can show us next time how to do it.
Hi Neri! There are a few ways to enjoy anko with mochi… what do you mean by mochi “skin”?
If you’re talking about Kiri Mochi – We use these rice cakes to enjoy anko mochi – https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-enjoy-japanese-mochi/
if you are talking about daifuku (this is the most “skin” like you’re referring to?) – https://www.justonecookbook.com/daifuku/
If you want to make mochi with a stand mixer (because we don’t have the traditional tools) – https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-mochi-with-a-stand-mixer/
Hope this helps… Let me know if you were referring to a different recipe. 🙂
Just finished cooking my fine red bean paste and this recipe is AMAZING. I love it so much. So simple and straight forward. I used raw sugar and slightly reduced the amount but it was still sweet to me. But thats okay because I love sweet red bean paste! Just taste as you go to make sure you get the flavour you want and like the author mentioned, if it is a filling, your skin/outer layer probably won’t be as sweet so you need to account for that as well.
Hi Shermain,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the Anko!
Thank you for sharing your cooking experience/tips with us!🙂
hi! i’ve made anko for your recipe twice. yours is far by the simplest and easiest version to make, and also tastes wonderful.
the first time i made it was for dorayaki filling. the second time i made it was for the filling of a matcha fresh cream swiss roll. for those who are health conscious, you can definitely reduce the amount of sugar used, especially if you’re already using pure azuki red beans which already contain a natural high amount of sugar inside them. if you’re using normal red beans, then you can follow the stated amount of sugar. anyway, this anko paste is really, really useful! thank you nami !!
Hi Cl,
Thank you for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We are so happy to hear this recipe is the simplest, the easiest version to make Anko and taste wonderful!!☺️
i have a can of adzuki beans, but I cant figure out how to cook them to make this 🙁
Hi Vid,
Most of the caned Azuki is precooked. How about your Azuki?
If you see the sugar in the ingredient list, it already sweetens, so you do not need to add sugar and use it right away.
If you want to reduce the liquid, you can put in the pot and reheat over medium heat.
We hope this helps!
Hi Nami,
Can I use canned adzuki beans for this recipe? Or is the flavour better if you cook the beans from scratch? Thanks!
Hi Veronika,
Of course, making Anko from scratch is the best! But you can use canned Azuki beans.
However, the canned Azuki usually has been cooked, and you need to add sugar or may already be added the sugar. So please check your canned’s label.
Thank you for trying this recipe!
The recipe shows that the serving size is “600”, I’m assuming it means 6 servings?
Hi Fatima, It means 600g (1.3 lbs). Thank you for trying this recipe!
Other than the fact that some of the beans burned to the bottom of the pot (oops), we really liked making this recipe! We made the smooth red bean paste. We found that it took a really long time for it to thicken, so if we make this again, we might try using a pot or pan with more surface area for a faster cooking time. In the end, it tasted amazing!
Hi H+H, Thank you very much for trying this recipe! The Anko will get thicken when it cooled, so when you can draw a line on the bottom of the pot, turn off the heat. Don’t worry if it’s still loose!😉