These moist and delicious red bean pancakes are great for breakfast or as a snack! If you love red beans like I do, then you’ll enjoy this new red bean treat!
If you love Japanese red bean sweets such as Daifuku, Taiyaki, Anpan, and Dorayaki, you will love this Red Bean Pancakes! These pancakes may look like ordinary pancakes, but they are moist, light and fluffy, with just a hint of sweet red bean paste. If you can’t’ get enough of delicious red bean paste in your sweets, why not also have it for breakfast!
Red Bean Pancakes for Breakfast
Full confession, these red bean pancakes are not “common” pancakes in Japan. I’m sure people may make these pancakes at their home, but my mom never made them. I don’t quite remember how I ended up making these pancakes in the first place. Most likely I had leftover red bean paste in the refrigerator and decided to add it to the pancake batter one morning.
What not to like, right? I love pancakes for breakfast and we make different variations at home. Since I love anything that has red bean in it, this became an instant hit even among my family members.
Since then whenever I have some leftover red bean paste in the container (you just need one cup), I whip up these red bean pancakes for breakfast (or snack).
Red Bean Pancakes – Deconstructed Dorayaki
The red bean paste gives nice moist texture to the pancake batter. It’s kind of like deconstructed dorayaki. But as red bean flavors are spread out into the batter, the “red bean” flavor is not as strong as dorayaki. It’s definitely easier to make these pancakes at home compared to dorayaki.
As red bean paste is already sweet, and even sweeter if you buy pre-made red bean paste. Dilute the red bean paste with water in the saucepan first to easily incorporate into the batter.
As far as toppings and sauces go, I like how maple syrup matches perfectly with red bean pancakes. Even though it’s already a bit sweet from the red bean, I still like to drizzle just a little bit on mine. For the looks, I also sprinkle a bit of powder sugar.
It’s a little Asian twist on basic pancakes and I hope you give it a try, especially if you have some small amount of red bean paste in your refrigerator and don’t want it to go to waste.
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Red Bean Pancake
Ingredients
For Red Bean Paste
- 1 cup red bean paste (anko) (10 oz; for the homemade recipe, please click here)
- 2 Tbsp water
For Pancake Batter
- ¼ cup sugar (4 Tbsp)
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
To Cook Pancakes
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
To Serve
- confectioners’ sugar/powdered sugar
- maple syrup
- fruits of your choice
Instructions
To Prepare Red Bean Mixture
- Add the red bean paste and water in a small saucepan and simmer until the paste loosens up. Turn off the heat and let cool.
To Make Pancake Batter
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar and eggs. Then add the milk, vanilla, and red bean mixture.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt in a fine-mesh sieve and sift over the mixing bowl. Mix well to combine but do not overmix, which will develop gluten and cause a tough pancake texture.
To Cook Pancakes
- In a non-stick frying pan, heat ½ Tbsp butter on medium heat. Pour the mixture on the pan and cook until you see bubbles on the pancake. Then flip over and cook until both sides are nicely golden brown. Continue to make pancakes with the rest of the batter.
To Serve and Store
- Serve immediately. You can sprinkle powder sugar, maple syrup, etc. I usually eat with just maple syrup as pancakes are already sweet. To save for later, wrap 2 pancakes in a single layer with aluminum foil and put it in a freezer bag. Store in the freezer for up to a month. Use the oven toaster or oven to reheat before you serve.
Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on March 16, 2011. The images, the content, and the recipe have been updated in June 2017.
