Tsubu An (つぶあん) is the most common bean paste for Japanese sweets and confectionaries. We use them for Dorayaki, Taiyaki, An Pan, Daifuku mostly as a filling. There are two different red bean pastes in Japan. One is Tsubu An(つぶあん) which is a chunky paste, and another one is Koshi An(こし餡 )which is a fine and smooth paste. Tsubu An is a little bit easier and versatile, so let’s make them.
Ingredients for Tsubu An
Beans: Azuki, or Adzuki is small red beans which literally means small beans (小豆) in Japanese. You can find azuki beans in Japanese grocery stores, Asian grocery stores, or online stores.
Sugar-Jyouhakuto (上白糖) white sugar is the most common sugar which is more moist sugar than granulated sugar in Japan. The Tsubu An recipes are mostly made with this Jyohakuto, however, granulated sugar or brown sugar is completely fine to use for making Tsubu An.
Many professionals are using Shiro Zarame(白ザラ糖), which is coarse white sugar. And sometimes adding Mizu Ame(水飴), mullet sugar for shelf life purpose in the freezer.
The Bean to Sugar Ratio
Most of the time, the same amount of sugar is added from the beans for Tsubu An. I have seen the bean to sugar ratio 1:1 to 1: 1.4. Adding more sugar is not healthy but lasts longer and is freezer-friendly. My recipe is as follows, 1:1 ratio, and using brown sugar. You can reduce the sugar amount if you like. Also, you can use different sugar, like coconuts sugar.
Steps to make Tsubu An
Everybody has a different style of cooking Tsubu An. Some people soak the beans in the water before cooking them. Also, each recipe has different timing and number for changing the boiled water. Here are my steps of making Tsubu An.
Step 1: Rinse and Boil Beans
Rinse the dried beans in cold water. We can get fresh beans nowadays, so we don’t have to let the bean soak in the water anymore before cook.
Step 2: Shibukiri (渋切り): Ged rid of the astringency
When you cooking the beans, the boiled water gets red and cloudy. The method of draining all the cloudy cooked water is called Shibukiri (渋切り). Shibu(渋) means bitter in Japanese, so literary getting rid of the bitterness from the beans. I do this Shibukiri two times. Some people do once or nothing, some people do 3 to 4 times. It all depends.
Step 3: Cook
Now, cook the beans until it gets soft. In step 2, you can use a lot of water, for this time, water should be right above the level of beans. Technically, I don’t want beans dancing around in the water. It prevents breaking the beans. Cook low heat, and once the water level goes down, add water. And keep repeating the process 4 to 5 times until the beans are cooked.
Step 4 : Neri (Kneading)
Once the beans are really cooked, add sugar and knead them. Add a pinch of salt at the end of the kneading process. The paste will get really hot when it is mixed with sugar. Please be careful to not get burned.
Step 5: Cool Down
Once the paste gets the preferred thickness, remove it from the heat. And transfer the paste into a big plate to cool down as quickly as possible. The flavor will changes if you keep the paste in the pod.
Store Bought Tsubu An
You can buy Tsubu An easily from an Asian grocery store or online. They are normally sold in canned or bags. However, if you have time, I highly recommend making own bean paste because many of store-bought one has a lot of sugar. You can adjust the sugar amount if you make your own.
What can you make from Tsubu An (Red Bean Paste)?
I use Tsubu An is almost like jelly. Filling for mochi and bread is a typical way to use, but use as garnish is also a typical way to use Tsubu An. Garnish for ice cream, shaved ice, or waffle.
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup (250g) red beans
- 2 ½ cup (618ml) water
- 1 ⅓ cup (250g) light brown sugar
- 1 pinch of salt
Instructions
- Rinse red beans with water.
- Combine the washed red beans into a large pot, pour around 800ml of water, cook them with medium heat. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat off and put the rid on. Steam them for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the water.
- Transfer the red bean back to the pot, add 800ml water, cook them with medium heat until they’re boiled. Then keep cooking for about 2 to 3 minutes, then put the rid on. Wait for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the water, and pour cold water over the red beans.
- Now, cooking red beans for a long time. Add the red bean into the clean pot, pour water right above the level of beans, put on medium heat. Once it starts boiling, turn the heat down to really low. Cook them until beans become soft, usually for 30 to 40 minutes. Please make sure the red beans are completely covered by water. Keep adding water when the water level gets lower than beans.
- Test one azuki is cooked which is able to smush by fingers.
- Pour the cooked red beans over a sieve.
- Transfer back the cooked red bean into a clean pot, add sugar and cook them on medium heat. Gently hold them by spatula.
- Once the water is evaporating, add a pinch of salt and remove it from the heat.
- Transfer the paste into a large plate or sheet pan as soon as possible. Let them cool down. Store the paste in an air-tight container. You can keep them up to 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator and 2 months in the freezer.
Notes
- The bean will be 2.4 times bigger in size after absorbing all the water. It's ideal to use a large pot.
- Bean Paste will get thicker after cool down.
