Sweet red bean paste or, as it is also called, adzuki paste - traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean seasoning, which is made from red adzuki beans, sugar, vegetable oil and is quite often used in East Asian cuisine. To prepare it, beans are boiled and ground or crushed with a crush until they are pasty. It is then sweetened or left as it is by adding vegetable oil... The color of the paste is usually bright red and depends on the presence of the husk and the variety of beans. For example, in Korean cuisine, this pasta is made from a black variety of adzuki, resulting in a sweet white pasta. In some cases, the beans are ground through a sieve, which makes the paste more tender and homogeneous.

V chinese cuisine Most often, adzuki is done in two ways:

For the first method, adzuki is boiled with sugar and crushed with a crush. The paste is thick with chunks of beans and hulls. Depending on the desired texture, the beans are crumpled intensively or only lightly, sometimes whole beans are deliberately added to such a paste. This type of red bean paste is most popular as a condiment in the People's Republic of China. It is also eaten separately as a snack and added to sweet soups.

In the second case, the beans are cooked without sugar and broken into a pulp. Then the resulting mass is additionally ground through a fine sieve. In addition, with the help of gauze, the paste is squeezed dry. This "dry" adzuki is then used in cooking. However, if you wish, you can always add sugar and vegetable oil or animal fat to it. This paste is most commonly used in Chinese sweet pastries.

Due to its simplicity and availability of ingredients, adzuki is one of the main seasonings in Chinese cuisine. It is often prepared at home for various holidays, for example, for the Chinese New Year. On this last big holiday, sesame balls and sweet cakes are prepared with sweet bean paste, as well as rice croquettes, pudding, chinese dumplings. The Chinese believe that starting New Year with such a meal, they are bound to be happy, healthy and prosperous. It's all about the color of the paste. The color red in China symbolizes happiness and prosperity. By the way, it is in this connection that many Chinese paint their front doors red. Coincidentally, not only does adzuki make Chinese people happier, it's also useful. It contains a lot of iron, as well as other minerals and vitamins necessary for the human body.

Ingredients:

• 2/3 cup red beans
• 100 grams of sugar
• 100 ml vegetable oil

Preparation:

1. First, rinse the beans well and remove any spoiled or damaged beans. Fill with water and leave at room temperature overnight. This procedure will significantly reduce the cooking time for the adzuki.
2. The next day, place the beans in a small pot of water and bring to a boil. Cook over low heat (cooking time depends on the type of beans) until the beans are quite soft. Add water if necessary. When ready, discard the beans in a colander.
3. Then put the beans in a blender bowl and interrupt until they are uneven. Add sugar and stir until dissolved.
4. In a small wok, heat the vegetable oil and fry the bean mass over medium heat until all the liquid is gone. Stir and press with a spatula the remaining pieces of beans.
5. Leave the finished adzuki to cool and then use it as needed for the recipe. In the refrigerator in a sealed container, this paste will last for about one week. If desired, you can additionally grind the paste through a sieve.

Hello to all lovers of delicious food!

Getting Started - Bean Paste!

For cooking bean paste You will need:

• one cup of adzuki beans
• 100 grams of sugar (preferably brown cane sugar)
• about 4 glasses of water

Stage one:

Rinse the beans and place in a saucepan. Cover with water so that all the beans are covered with water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and cover the pan with a lid, continue to cook for an hour at small fire until the beans are soft. If the water evaporates a lot, add more water - the beans should always be covered with water.

Stage two:

When the beans are done, drain the rest of the broth water into a separate bowl, it will come in handy later. Then set a small handful of beans aside, and press the rest of the beans, rub through a sieve. (you can also use another method of crushing beans convenient for you, for example, using a pusher). As a result, you should have a mashed bean, to which you need to add sugar and deferred whole beans, and mix everything thoroughly. Then put the whole mass back in the pan and continue to cook over low heat for 15 minutes until the bean mass turns dark brown or maroon color. If during the cooking process the legumes become too thick, add the broth that you drained earlier to it. Finally, leave the paste to cool. The anko will be completely ready when it can be rolled into balls.

Friends, well, that's all! The Japanese sweet bean paste is ready, now you can start making desserts using ancho paste. This paste can be used in cooking.

Red sweet adzuki bean paste, hundoush(Chinese simpl. 红豆 沙. Pinyin Hongdou Sha) is used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cuisines, less often it is used in other regional cuisines of Southeast Asia. In Japan it is called Azuki (小豆 餡, rH. Azuki), and in Korea it is called Phatso (Korean 팥소). In English, this paste is called Red bean paste. In Chinese and Japanese, sweet bean pastes are separated. There are sweet pastes made from any kind of beans, Hundousha is a paste made from red Azuki beans.

Azuki is a Japanese transliteration of the name of this bean variety. The scientific name for these beans is Vigna angularis, or angular beans. Cultivated in China for over 3000 years and ubiquitous in the Southeast Asian region, this bean variety is dark red in color, but it can also be of other colors (for example, black, gray, and even variegated). But for the production of sweet bean paste, only red beans are used. Ripe beans are milled, then the husks are sifted out, after which the bean mass is boiled and then sweetened with sugar or honey. The result is a dark red paste, homogeneous, thick enough (it can be spread on bread like butter) and sweet in taste. Actually, it is these qualities that made pasta so popular and in demand in Asian cuisines.

Hundous's Red Sweet Bean Paste is a ready-to-use product that does not require additional heat treatment... The range of application of this paste is wide enough - it is used in the preparation of sweet cereals and soups, sweet pastries, desserts, ice cream, jellies and even drinks. For example, Pepsi Cola with red bean paste is sold in Japan.

In the homeland of this sweet pasta, in the Celestial Empire, probably the most famous and popular treat with her is. In China, they are called Yuebing (Chin. 月饼, pinyin Yuebing). This is a traditional type of baked goods made in the PRC for the Mid-Autumn Festival. A seasonal treat that at other times of the year can only be found in specialty stores or prepared on your own. Red sweet bean paste is probably the most popular filling, although there are quite a few types of toppings for these gingerbread cookies.

No less popular treat for local sweet tooth is Nomi Tsy (Chinese simpl. 糯米糍, pinyin Nuomi ci). These are balls from rice flour, with sweet pasta in coconut flakes... This is a very similar in appearance and taste to Japanese mochi (or urine), which, by the way, are also made with a filling of this paste. One of the varieties of Japanese mochi looks very impressive - (Japanese 大 福 餅, rH. Daifukumochi), if you cut it in half lengthwise, then the cut shows a strawberry framed with red paste. By the way, literally the name "daifuku mochi" means "great luck".

Or a traditional old Peking sweet with a funny name (Chinese simpl. 驴打滚, pinyin Ludagun). This dessert looks like a roll, made from rice flour dough, which is prepared like mochi dough. Before folding a rolled sheet of dough, it is smeared with a red sweet paste.

Another famous recipe is made with Hundoush pasta. chinese dish- Zongzi (Chinese exercise 粽子, pinyin Zongzi). This is a kind of stuffed cabbage roll with rice filling and sweet pasta, only this “cabbage roll” is wrapped in a bamboo or reed leaf. These rice pyramids, wrapped in leaves, are an invariable ritual treat at the "Double Five" festival (aka Dragon Boat Festival).

During the celebration of another Chinese festival, the "Festival of Lanterns," Tanyuan rice balls (Chinese exercise 湯圓, pinyin Tangyuan) are prepared, and sweet bean paste is used as one of the favorite toppings.

As one of the filling options, sweet bean paste is used in the Baozi steamed cakes (Chin. 包子, Baozi pinyin).

Popular in China is the sweet soup with Azuki beans and sweet pasta - Hundou tan (Chinese exercise 紅豆汤, pinyin Hongdou tang), this soup is also popular in Japan - and it is called Shiruko (Japanese 汁 粉, rH. Shiruko).

Of course, it's worth remembering one of their favorite fillings is the sweet adzuki bean paste. Or interesting option mochi - mochi balls strung on a bamboo skewer like a shish kebab - Dango (団 子, rH. Dango).

No less popular and we love dessert - the famous Japanese cake from biscuit dough- Dorayaki (jap. ど ら 焼 き, rH. Dorayaki). This cake consists of two ruddy pancakes, between which sweet pasta is smeared, which also glues them together.

Filled with red sweet pasta in Japan, they make fish-shaped cookies - Taiyaki (Japanese 鯛 焼 き, rH. Taiyaki), the name literally translates as “baked sea bream”.

A sweet jelly made from red paste and agar-agar is prepared in Japan - it is called Yokan (Japanese 羊羹, rH. Yokan).

In Korea, with sweet pasta they make very delicious cookies, similar to Russian cookies "Nuts with condensed milk". In Koreans, nut cookies are called Hodugwaja (Korean 호두 과자). The filling for this liver consists of a mixture walnuts and sweet pasta.

Available in Korean national cuisine rice donuts with sweet filling- Chapsal Donat (Korean 찹쌀 도넛). Or steamed buns with sweet pasta - Hoppan (Korean 호빵).

The Korean sweet "Honey Bread" - Kulppan (Korean 꿀빵) is very curious. These are deep-fried red pasta buns dipped in syrup and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.

It is worth recalling the traditional Korean food on the occasion of the Chuseok Harvest Festival - steamed rice dough cakes with sweet Songpyeong bean paste (Korean 송편).

An interesting Korean refreshing dessert made from crushed ice and sweet pasta - Phatbinsu (Korean 팥빙수).

Of course, there are far more Asian dishes with red bean paste than we've been able to cover in this short review. Certain red pasta dishes require special adaptations, such as Chinese moon cakes or Japanese fish biscuits. And some (for example, the Japanese biscuit dough) are very simple and require only a little diligence.

All in all, it's worth a try!

Peanut butter is not the most popular product on the Russian market, despite its wide popularity abroad. What is the uniqueness of this product, what benefits it brings to our body.

The 20th President of the United States of America, the leading state in the consumption of peanut butter, D.A. Garfield once said: "A man cannot live on bread alone, he must also have peanut butter." IN USA peanut butter do not just buy from time to time, the coveted product is present in every home, the pasta is spread on bread or eaten directly from the can several times a day. All Americans do this, except those people who are allergic to peanuts. There are few of them, only 0.6% of Americans.

So, what is interesting about this product, why has it received such huge popularity. We offer you 10 interesting facts which you did not know yet:

1. Peanuts, it turns out, are not a nut, as many buyers believe, this plant belongs to the legume family like beans or peas. The name comes from the Greek word for spider due to the similarity of the net pattern of peanuts to cobwebs.
2. For the first time, the idea of ​​turning peanuts into pasta was embodied by the ancient Aztecs, it was they who finely ground the roasted peanuts, and then ate the resulting mass as a main dish.
3. Modern peanut butter was born thanks to 4 patented inventions of the New World. In 1884, in Canada, M.G. Edson suggested producing peanut butter between two heated surfaces. In 1895 in the USA D.H. Kellogg, a renowned nutritionist and creator of corn flakes, has suggested gentle peanut butter as a protein source for people with chewing problems. In 1903, a special apparatus for preparing peanut butter was again patented in the United States, and in 1922 the chemist D. Rosenfield added hydrogenated oil to the paste recipe and obtained a product very close to modern recipes.
4. Under the term peanut butter there are two varieties: a delicate creamy mass, which is also called "creamy" or "smoothy" for its uniform enveloping consistency, and a paste with nut pieces or "crunchy". Most often, for the convenience of buyers, a jar lid with gentle paste- red, and with the addition of a slice of peanuts - blue.
5. Peanut butter is a high-calorie product. 100 g contains 884 kcal and 20 g of protein. Many athletes regularly consume peanut butter, because it is a source of essential proteins and a great aid in building muscle.
6. The daily dose for an adult is 20 peanuts or 4 tablespoons of peanut butter.
7. This product contains many useful for our body: antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids Omega-6, Omega-9, Omega-3, vitamins B1, B2, A, E, PP, minerals iron, zinc, magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphorus , iodine, selenium.
8. Peanut butter is cholesterol free.
9. Americans eat over 300 million kilograms of peanut butter annually, with 3/4 of all families eating it for breakfast. The well-known cosmonaut Alan Gepard, who landed on the moon, even during his famous flight, used cubes of specially pressed peanut butter.
10. Among the various phobias there is a special one associated with this product: arachibatirophobia, or in the original arachibutyrophobia, namely, the fear that peanut butter will stick to the upper palate of a person.

Haven't tried this amazing product yet? We offer to urgently go to the store and choose. On behalf of the editors, we recommend you our favorite jars from the Greek manufacturer Pami. Delicate or with peanut chunks, but invariable the highest quality and excellent taste! Bon Appetit.

Description

Anko Pasta Is a traditional Japanese dessert based on Azuki beans. But you can meet him not only in Japan, but also in China, which is considered his homeland, and also in Korea. The taste of sweet bean paste is somewhat unusual for us. The sweetness is not as pronounced as in our usual desserts. Although the benefits of Anko are undeniable, because it consists exclusively of beans, sugar and a small amount of salt. No dyes or flavors, only natural ingredients!

Anko paste can be used as a stand-alone dessert or as a filling for making wagashi(Japanese pastries). An analogy can be drawn with condensed milk, which you can eat with a spoon and stuff all kinds of pies, cookies, cakes with it. In general, the product is versatile.

It is quite problematic to buy Anko bean paste, and not in all restaurants Japanese food you can try it, because it will be easiest to prepare it. The recipe is completely simple, and therefore you can cope with it with ease!

So, we invite you to join step by step recipe Cooking Sweet Anko Bean Pasta!

Ingredients

Cooking steps

To make Anko, we need 200 grams of Azuki beans.



The beans must be thoroughly washed in running water, for which it will be most convenient to use a colander. You will also need to remove spoiled beans from the total mass of adzuki.

After the above manipulations, place the beans in a saucepan and fill them with filtered water in a ratio of one to three (one part adzuki and three parts water).



Now we send the pot with beans to the stove. When the water boils, we put the adzuki in a colander. Then fill the beans with water again (the proportions are the same), and then return them to the stove.

It is necessary to cook the beans for about an hour and a half over low heat, until they are well boiled. During the cooking process, you need to constantly add water so that the adzuki are constantly covered with it.

This time, the water after the beans will need to be saved and poured into a separate vessel (it will still come in handy for us).



Pour half of the required amount of sugar into a saucepan with adzuki and send it to low heat for 10 minutes.



When the sugar has melted, spread the entire contents of the saucepan with a wooden spoon and add the other half of the required amount of sugar. Mix the ingredients thoroughly. You should get a pretty thick puree.



Leave Anko on the stove for another 10-15 minutes, stirring it constantly. You can determine its readiness by its characteristic dark shade. If the paste is too thick, it can be diluted with the water in which the adzuki was boiled.

Make sure to add a little salt to the bean paste at this stage.



Anko is left to cool and then it can be used.



* Store the paste in the refrigerator. V cling film it can lie for about a week, for more long-term storage Anko should be placed in an airtight container.

Bon Appetit!