Homemade Sweet Red Bean Paste Made with Care
A sweet homemade paste made by boiling red beans until tender, blending them smooth, and simmering gently with sugar over low heat until thick.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
This homemade sweet red bean paste is made by simmering red beans until thoroughly soft, blending them smooth, and gently cooking them down with sugar and salt. Discarding the first boiling water removes any astringency, and moderating the sweetness ensures a clean finish. It is versatile and wonderful for breads, rice cakes, and red bean jelly (yanggaeng).
- Servings
- about 6–8 servings
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spiciness
- Not spicy
Ingredients
- Red beans300 g (2 cups)
- Sugar150 g (1 cup)
- Salt1 tsp
- Soaking the red beans overnight can shorten the cooking time.
- Any type of sugar works fine.
Steps
1. Prepare 300g (2 cups) of red beans, 150g (1 cup) of sugar, and 1 tsp of salt. Any type of sugar works fine.
2. First, sort and rinse the red beans clean, then pour in enough water to submerge the beans and bring to a boil.
After boiling for about 5 minutes, red bean water will come out. Please discard this water. It is not only astringent, but also contains compounds that can cause stomachaches.
(Soaking the red beans overnight can shorten the cooking time.)
3. Pour in enough water to submerge the red beans again and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts boiling, lower the heat to low and simmer.
As the red beans cook and the water reduces, keep replenishing the water while boiling.
4. Boil thoroughly until the red beans can be mashed easily with your fingers.
5. Once the red beans are fully cooked, do not add any more water.
(If this seems too troublesome, you can buy sweetened red beans for shaved ice, blend them finely, and simmer them down.)
6. Blend finely with an immersion blender. You can also press them finely through a fine-mesh strainer. (For a coarse paste, just lightly mash them.)
If using a blender, it won't blend if it is too stiff, so add a suitable amount of water to blend.
Then, pour the blended red beans into a cotton cloth and squeeze tightly to drain the liquid.
7. Add the sugar and salt to the finely blended paste, and simmer down over low heat while stirring.
(Using equal amounts of sugar and red beans makes it too sweet, so I cut the sugar in half.)
8. As it simmers down, remaining moisture evaporates and it will become thick.
10
9. Once it reaches this consistency, it is complete.
10. After letting it cool, line a mold with plastic wrap, pour in the sweet red bean paste, shape it, and remove it.
Wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the freezer.
(If you boil sweet potatoes and follow this same method, you can make sweet potato paste. Try adapting this method when making other pastes as well.)
Ppunwife's tips
- After boiling for about 5 minutes, red bean water will come out. Please discard this water. It is not only astringent, but also contains compounds that can cause stomachaches.
- If using a blender, it won't blend if it is too stiff, so add a suitable amount of water to blend. Then, pour the blended red beans into a cotton cloth and squeeze tightly to drain the liquid.
- Using equal amounts of sugar and red beans makes it too sweet, so I cut the sugar in half.
FAQ
Why should the first boiling water of the red beans be discarded?
The initial red liquid should be discarded to remove the astringent taste of red beans and extract compounds that can cause stomachaches.
Is there a tip to shorten the boiling time of red beans?
Soaking the red beans overnight before cooking can shorten the boiling time.
How should the finished sweet red bean paste be stored?
Let it cool slightly, pour it into a plastic wrap-lined mold to shape it, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and store it in the freezer.
How do you blend it when using a regular blender instead of an immersion blender?
A regular blender will not blend well if the mixture is too stiff, so add a suitable amount of water to blend, strain it through a cotton cloth, squeeze out the liquid tightly, and simmer down just the paste.
