Anko Recipes

PRESSURE COOKER ANKO (RED BEAN PASTE)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients.
• Put the 300 g (1 ½ cup) azuki beans in a strainer and place it inside a large bowl. Rinse the azuki beans in running water until water is clear. Discard any pieces that are floating. Drain water.
• Transfer the beans to the Instant Pot and add 1200 ml (5 cups) of water to your pressure cooker.
• Cover and lock the lid of your pressure cooker. If you're using an Instant Pot, turn it on and press the "Bean/Chili" button. Press the "minus" button to decrease the cooking time from the default 35-minute cooking time to 25 minutes.
• Before you walk away, make sure the steam release handle points at "sealing" and not "venting".
• If you're using a stove-top pressure cooker, cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then reduce the heat to low to maintain the pressure for about 20 minutes.
• When it's done cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to "Keep Warm" mode. Let the pressure slowly release by itself for 15-20 minutes. If you are using a stove-top pressure cooker, remove the pot from the heat, and let the pressure release naturally. Before opening the lid, turn the steam release handle to vent and release any leftover pressure.
• Scoop the foam on the surface and discard (if you prefer the more refined taste). Pick one bean and mash it with your fingers. If it is mashed easily, it's done.
• Then drain the azuki beans through a fine sieve and put the azuki beans back in the inner pot. If you're making Oshiruko (Zenzai) or red bean soup, DO NOT DRAIN and continue the next step with the cooking liquid remaining in the pot.
• Add the sugar. Press the "Saute" button and select the "Low" option.
• Let the sugar dissolved completely, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon. Add a pinch of salt right before you choose the following options: 1) Fine texture, 2) coarse texture, and 3) red bean soup.

SWEET RED BEAN PASTE (TSUBUAN AND KOSHIAN)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients.
• Rinse the azuki beans and discard any broken beans.
• Transfer the drained azuki beans to a large pot. Add enough water to the pot so the beans are covered by 1-2 inches.
• Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Once boiling, drain the beans in a fine-mesh sieve. Return the beans to the same pot.
• Next, add more water to the pot so the beans are covered by 1-2 inches.
• Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, put an otoshibuta (drop lid) over the beans. (The 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 1½ hours.
• Some of the water will evaporate, so add more water to keep the beans submerged, as needed. After 1 hour, check if the beans are cooked. Pick up a bean and mash it with your fingers. When it mashes easily, it's done.

FRESH PANKO

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• Push torn pieces of bread through the shredding disk of a food processor to make coarse crumbs. Spread the crumbs on a baking sheet.
• Bake in preheated oven until crumbs are dry but not toasted, 6 to 8 minutes. Shake the sheet twice during baking in order to evenly dry crumbs. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

ANKO (SWEET RED BEAN PASTE)

Steps:

• Place beans in a saucepan and cover with 2 cups water; bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and discard water.
• Place drained beans in a clean saucepan and cover with 2 to 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover the saucepan, and simmer, adding more water as needed, until beans are soft and can be crushed between your fingers, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Drain beans and discard water.
• Stir beans and sugar together in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and beans form a loose, shiny paste, about 10 minutes. Immediately transfer the paste to a container to cool. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

PANKO FRIED SHRIMP

Steps:

• Butterfly shrimp by cutting vertically down the back of the shrimp. Leave tails on.
• Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and seasoning salt.
• Heat enough oil to deep fry the shrimp in a skillet to 350 degrees F.
• Put panko crumbs in a shallow dish. Add seasonings to taste and mix well. Put flour in a separate shallow dish.
• Beat the eggs and water together.
• Dip the shrimp in the egg-water mixture.
• Add the shrimp to the flour. Toss to coat.
• Dip again in egg-water mixture.
• Toss shrimp in panko crumbs.
• Fry in hot oil at 350 degrees F until golden, about 3 minutes. You may have to turn the shrimp to evenly brown them.
• Drain the fried shrimp cooling racks over paper towels.
• Keep shrimp warm while frying batches of shrimp.
• Serve with lemon wedges, cocktail sauce or tartar sauce.

ANKO

Steps:

• 1. Put the soaked beans in a medium- size, heavy pot, cover them with water to a depth of 2 inches, and bring to a boil. Boil the beans for 5 minutes, then drain them through a colander and rinse. Repeat. After the second boil-drain-rinse cycle, cover the beans a third time, this time with 3 cups cold water. Let the beans simmer, uncovered, skimming off any foam that accumulates, until they're tender, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• 2. At this point, there should still be plenty of liquid along with the beans in the pot. They need not be covered completely, but they should be, as I say, swimming. If not, add another cup or so of hot water. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and keep simmering the beans gently, stirring them often.
• 3. Using a potato masher, begin breaking up the cooking beans into a chunky, thick, pastelike mash, stirring more and more often after this point to prevent sticking. Continue simmering until most, but not all, of the liquid has evaporated; the beans will continue to thicken, absorbing water as they cool. Remove the mashed beans from the heat and set aside. If you want a smooth puree, let the anko cool slightly, then run it through a food processor. Store it, tightly covered, in the fridge for up to a week.

SWEET RED BEAN PASTE (ANKO)

Steps:

• Wash azuki beans gently a couple of times.
• Put azuki beans into a saucepan, fill it with water to 3-4cm / 1¼-1½" above the azuki beans and bring it to a boil.
• Cook for 15 minutes, turn the heat off and leave for 30 minutes with a lid on. Drain using a sieve.
• Return the azuki beans to the saucepan, fill the pan with water to just cover the beans. Bring it to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to medium low so that the beans are gently simmering.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes until the beans are cooked through (note 3). If the beans surface above the water level, add some water to keep the beans just below the water level (note 4). Remove the scum as it surfaces.
• Turn the heat off and leave for 30 minutes with the lid on. Drain using a sieve with a bowl beneath it so that the liquid can be collected in the bowl.
• Return the beans to the pan.
• Gently tilt the bowl of liquid and drain the liquid slowly. At the bottom of the bowl, you will see a thick layer of the azuki bean powder diluted in the liquid. Transfer this to the pan.
• Add sugar and gently mix the sugar into the azuki beans using a soft spatula.
• Heat the pan with azuki beans over medium heat. The beans should become watery as it starts boiling.
• Cook for about 10 minutes. During this time gently mix the beans occasionally by moving the spatula from one edge to the other edge and draw a wide straight line.
• Check the consistency of the paste: Draw a line at the bottom of the pan with the spatula. If you can see the bottom of the pan and the beans start closing the line after hesitating momentarily, it is the right consistency (note 5).
• Add glucose if using and a pinch of salt, then gently mix. Remove from the heat.
• Transfer the bean paste to a tray. Cover it with cling wrap removing air pockets as much as possible (note 6). When cooled down, store in the fridge up to 4 days or freeze it in a zip lock bag up to 2 months.

AN PAN

Steps:

• Put lukewarm milk, yeast, and sugar in a stand mixer bowl, then whisk well. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Combine bread flour and cake flour, and add to the milk mixture. Add salt and milk powder, and start the mixer kneading with a dough hook at medium speed.
• When the dough is becoming a ball (after about 8 minutes), add soft butter and knead for another 4-5 minutes until the butter is completely incorporated. Cover with plastic, and leave in a warm place about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
• Make balls of Anko, each 1.5" (or 4cm) in diameter and about 1 1/4oz (or 35g).
• Take the dough and deflate the gas from the dough. Put on to a cutting board, and cut into 8 equal pieces about 2.5oz (or 70g) each. Form into small balls. Let them rest for 15 minutes covered.
• Flatten a ball of dough with a rolling pin to a 4" (or 10cm) round. Put a ball of Anko in the center of the round, wrap with dough, and pinch the ends of the dough so that the Anko is sealed inside the dough ball. Repeat for remaining dough and Anko.
• Place shaped dough balls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving 2" (or 5cm) space between the balls. Brush egg wash (the mixture of egg with a pinch of salt) on the surface of the dough, and sprinkle some black sesame seeds on top. Leave them to double in size, about 1 hour.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 400F(205C) for about 10 minutes until they brown.

ANKO

Steps:

• Place the beans in a medium bowl and add enough cold water to cover by about 2 inches. Cover and refrigerate until the beans have swelled, about 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
• Drain the beans and transfer to a 5-quart Dutch oven or medium saucepan. Add 4 cups cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain the beans, then combine them with the baking soda in the same pot. Fill the pot with another 4 cups cold water, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
• Remove the lid, reduce the heat to low and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are very soft, about 45 minutes. Add warm water as needed to keep the beans covered.
• Drain the beans, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Clean the pot and set aside. Transfer the beans to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until most of them are broken down, about 10 to 15 pulses. If the beans aren't moving much in the food processor, add some of the reserved cooking liquid.
• Return the beans to the cleaned pot and add the sugar, oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the paste is thick enough for you to see the bottom of the pot when you run a spatula across it, 10 to 20 minutes.
• Transfer the paste to a baking sheet or wide shallow bowl, spread it out evenly and let cool completely. It will thicken as it cools. The cooled bean paste can be used immediately or stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week or in a resealable plastic freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.

ZENZAI AND ANKO RECIPE (SWEET AZUKI BEAN PORRIDGE AND RED BEAN PASTE)

Steps:

• Rinse the azuki red beans and place them into a pot.
• Add a generous amount of water and bring to a boil on high heat.
• When it begins to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Strain the red beans and discard the cooking water.
• Put the red beans in the pot and add a generous amount of water again.
• Bring it to a boil.
• Simmer for 5 minutes and discard the cooking water.
• This time, add 700 ml (2.96 cups) of water and bring it to a boil again.
• Simmer for about 30 minutes on low heat. If the foam appears on the surface, remove it. The broth is reduced while simmering for 30 minutes. If the beans appear on the surface, add just enough water to submerge the beans.
• Pinch 2 or 3 azuki beans to ckeck the firmness. When the beans are soft enough to be crushed, scoop out about half of the azuki beans (250 g / 8.8 oz) and transfer them to a bowl with a mesh strainer. These azuki beans will be used to make Anko, sweet bean paste later.
• Add the sugar to the remaining red bean broth.
• Thoroughly remove the foam while simmering.
• Add a pinch of salt.
• Simmer until the red bean broth slightly thickens.
• Next, let's make Anko, sweet bean paste for kushi-dango. Place the saved azuki beans into a pot.
• Add the sugar.
• Reduce the liquid on medium heat while stirring the red bean mixture with a wooden paddle to avoid burning.
• Add a pinch of salt.
• Drop the anko from the paddle to check its consistency. When the anko drops as shown in the video, it is ready since the bean paste becomes firmer when cooled.
• These are tofu dango we made in our previous recipe. Skewer 3 dango with a bamboo stick.
• Place the anko on the skewered tofu dango.
• Now, let's serve the Zenzai.
• Ladle the hot Zenzai into a bowl and add 3 dango.
• Sprinkle matcha green tea powder on the dango.