Sweet homemade red bean paste is a nutritious and delicious cooking ingredient used in many Chinese sweet desserts and pastries. Red bean paste or adzuki bean paste is a sweet bean paste that is dark red in colour. They normally make this paste by boiling adzuki beans and sugar with water until the beans are soft. The soft bean can be either coarsely or lightly mashed depending on preference. The resulting red bean paste can be a mashed paste with some broken beans and bean pods. Alternatively you can also process the paste into a very smooth paste.
Culinary Uses of Homemade Red beans paste
In general, they use red beans in many Chinese dishes. For example soups, porridge, added to gravy and even tea. However, the most popular way of using red bean paste is in desserts and pastries. Particularly, ice cream, popsicles, waffles and dumpling (Zongzi). As well as glutinous rice balls in ginger flavoured soup (Tang yuan), mooncake, buns (baozi), cakes and pan cakes. Plus fried glutinous rice balls (Jian dui) and as condiments for shaved ice (ice kacang).
Gluten Free Homemade Red Bean Paste
For my gluten free homemade red bean paste recipe. I am making a smooth red bean paste flavoured with orange juice and orange zest. This recipe is not only naturally gluten free. But also vegan, soy free, dairy free, corn free, egg free, nut free and refined sugar free. For more gluten free red bean paste recipes. Refer to my lightly mashed red bean paste and my Red Bean Paste Buns recipe. Plus my gluten free Chinese Five Spice Doughnuts (Ham Chim Peng) recipe. You may also like my gluten free Creamy Coconut Red Bean with Black Rice soup recipe.
For nutritional values and health benefits of Adzuki red beans, visit my post Red Bean Paste Buns.
Ingredients
- 180 g dried adzuki beans washed and soaked overnight with 1 cup water
- 250 ml orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 500 ml water
- 5 tablespoons agave syrup
Instructions
- Pour the soaked overnight red beans and water into a medium pot. Add a further 2 cups (500ml) water and bring to a rolling boil. Cover with lid, turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Then add in the orange juice and agave syrup, cover with lid and bring to a boil again. Turn the heat to low and simmer for another 30 minutes or until red beans are very soft and liquid has almost reduced completely or just covering the soft red beans. Stirring frequently to avoid sticking.
- Turn off the heat and remove the pot from the hot stove. Let the red bean paste cool down.
- Place the red bean paste into a Nutribullet or food processor. Blend until you get a thick and smooth puree paste.
- Place the red bean paste in a bowl and add in all the orange zest, mix well with a spoon.
- Chill in the refrigerator until ready to use or store in the freezer in an airtight container for future use.
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