A recipe that does not fail to divide! Either we like it or we really can’t. It took me a while to really appreciate, then love this sweet red azuki<\/em> bean paste. I used to buy pastries in Tokyo the many times I went there in another life, which contained them and at first I was a little skeptical. Then it became my little routine to finally taste it every time. I wanted to give you the recipe of theanko<\/em>, with the two possible versions: the tsubuan<\/em>, with the whole cooked beans and the koshian<\/em>, with the mixed and sifted beans. This will of course be followed by a dorayaki<\/em> recipe! <\/p>\n\n

For about 300g of anko<\/p>\n\n

• 100g of dry azuki beans<\/li>
• 100g of sugar<\/li>
• a good pinch of salt<\/li><\/ul>\n\n

  This is the azuki bean. It can be found in Asian stores or Japanese grocery stores.<\/p>\n

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  Put the necessary amount in a container and fill with cold water. Let soak overnight (minimum 12 hours).<\/p>\n

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  The next day the beans swelled.<\/p>\n

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  Drain them.<\/p>\n

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  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the beans. Allow to heat through until water comes back to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. The water should not be boiling heavily during cooking, otherwise the flesh will come out of the bean!<\/p>\n

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  Let simmer for about 1h20-1h30.<\/p>\n

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  Drain well, do not rinse! Put the beans back into a very hot pan and immediately add the sugar and salt.<\/p>\n

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  Mix well. The sugar brings out some of the liquid in the bean and that’s perfectly normal!<\/p>\n

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  Two solutions for the continuation: to mix the whole or to cook the whole beans. For a smoother version, the koshian version, it will be necessary to mix for a long time and if necessary by adding a little water.<\/p>\n

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  Then pass it through a fairly fine sieve, scraping well under a pan.<\/p>\n

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  This will make the dough smoother.<\/p>\n

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  Heat over moderate heat and cook for about 15 minutes to allow the dough to dry further. The bottom of the pan should no longer be covered with dough and should dry out like a choux pastry.<\/p>\n

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  It is this operation that will allow the dough to be manipulated and shaped.<\/p>\n

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  For the chunky dough, the tsubuan version, no need to mix or sift. You can leave the beans whole. I still crush a few to make it dry more easily. It will just have to be cooked again in the same way and for the same reasons.<\/p>\n

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  The dough should pull away from the bottom of the pan. <\/p>\n

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  I have made two versions here. Then let the dough cool in the open air, without covering it with cling film.<\/p>\n

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  When it has cooled down completely, you can then store it in a container with cling film around it. It is easy to handle and you can now prepare a recipe that requires anko.<\/p>\n\n

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  Anko (p\u00e2te de haricot azuki)<\/h2>\n

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