Red Bean Paste (豆沙)

27 Sep 2013

Some traditions are often lost in the modern days of technology. Having eaten so many mooncakes, I often wonder how can red bean be made into such silky and smooth paste without a blender in the old age. I must say, this did take a bit of time to make. But, I suppose folks do not have TVs nor iPads in those time to keep them entertained. Nevertheless, the resulting product was definitely quite worth the trouble.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg/包 red bean (紅豆) - 350g
• ¹⁄₄ cup/杯 butter (奶油)
• 2 tbsp honey (蜂蜜)
• 2 tbsp Barley Malt syrup (麥芽糖)

做法

1. 紅豆洗乾淨，用清水浸泡隔夜（至少六個小時）
2. 將浸泡的水倒掉，加入蓋過紅豆兩寸以上的清水用電鍋煮至軟（手捏的爛）
3. 用細目濾網，將紅豆搓壓，讓豆沙可以濾出
4. 倒入一些清水反覆將豆沙洗出來
5. 剩下的渣就是“豆皮”
6. “豆皮”加點水放入果汁機中打碎成泥後，同樣用細目濾網，將豆沙洗出來
7. 將洗出來的豆沙倒入豆漿濾布中，用手擠壓將水擠出來
8. 最後濾袋中剩下的就是生豆沙
9. 大鍋放入奶油，加入生豆沙，用小火拌炒均勻
10. 依照喜歡的甜度將加入蜂蜜拌炒均勻
11. 最後加入麥芽糖，豆沙會變的比較溼軟
12. 換大火翻炒豆沙（避免炒焦），讓水分蒸發，炒至豆沙餡 （大約十五分）
13. 待涼後放冰箱冷藏或冷凍保存

Instructions

1. Soak red bean overnight or at least 6 hours.
2. Cover red bean with at least 2 inches of water, cook in rice cooker with 2 cups of water on the outside. If not cooked through, repeat with 1 cup of water.
3. Using a fine sieve, press the red bean through so that the “red bean slush” can be pressed through. Pour water to get the “red bean slush” through. What's left should be the “red bean skin.”
4. Run the leftover red bean skin in a blender.
5. Using double layered cheese cloth, pour the “red bean slush” and squeeze water out.
6. What you have leftover should be raw “red bean paste.” Repeat the same for the blended “red bean skin.”
7. Using a skillet, melt butter and add the raw “red bean paste.” Mix well.
8. Add honey and Barley Malt syrup, now the mixture should be ‘wet.’
9. Turn up the heat and stir frequently to avoid burning the “red bean paste.”
10. Red bean paste should be ready when the mixture dries into a paste which does not stick to the pan.