How should you prepare aduki (adzuki) beans for use in soup?

Question

I've got a bag of dried Aduki beans that I just bought from my local grocers that I plan to use in some soup, however there are no instructions on the packet.

I had a look on the internet and some places say they need soaked overnight beforehand and some insist that they don't. Also, how long will they need to be boiled before they're tender?

Answer 1

If you soak them overnight, just put into the soup .....
However .... Aduki beans are a little sweet, so be sure you want to use them that way .... usually they are used in the Orient as a stuffing for Red Bean Pancake ... cooked and sweetened with sugar .... delicious .... and they can be added to rice as you are cooking it which gives the rice a pale pinkish tint .. Aduki beans are a very special little bean ... which is to say not versatile, but nice for the things they are usually used for ... if you wish to find out for yourself what they are like before using them in a soup, soak them first and then taste a few of them ...

There is always that question of whether or not to soak dry beans ... the primary difference being the length of time required .... personally I like to soak dry beans first ... it reconstitutes the moisture content of the bean ....

Cheers!

Answer 2

The others had some pretty good answers and were informative, too. They ARE sweet beans, so the suggestion to taste 'em first (if you haven't had them before) is a good one. Soaking them is nice, but takes way too long if you have a dinner coming up soon.

Add a little bit of salt (sorry, I live in Japan, but my wife never measures stuff - good cook, though!) in the water if you're gonna boil them. This helps to get the water going to a boil faster. Throw in the beans once you have it boiling - keep in mind that the beans are dry, so they'll absorb a LOT of water, and once you have it on a boil that won't overflow for you, cover the pot and let science take over. Let that go on simmering away for about 3 hours and keep your eyes on it so you don't boil too much water away until you get the hang of how much is the right ratio. Once the beans have a slightly more-firm-than-baked-beans-out-of-the-can consistency, then you're good to go.

If you want more of a pasty consistency , make sure you have enough water and boil longer. If you want more beans, start poking around in there at about 2 hours.

Sorry if this isn't a very specifically measured system cooking reply. Azuki beans are pretty good over some various things, so cooking them depends on what you're using them for. The most interesting use of them was over a mix of shaved ice, with mochi (sweet-chewy rice that's been pounded into doughy consistency) and had the sauce from the beans poured over it as flavoring and the beans from the pot, too. It was a summer treat in Okinawa, but I can't say if this is traditional or not. I've never seen it up here in the mainland.

Good luck and have fun with them.

Answer 3

In Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine, and Korean cuisine the azuki bean is almost always eaten sweetened. In particular, it is often boiled with sugar, resulting in red bean paste, a very common ingredient in all three cuisines. (wikipedia)

Soak 1/2 cup of beans overnight in ample water. Drain and simmer in 2 cups of water for 40 minutes to an hour. Alternatively, pressure cook the soaked beans in 2 cups of water for 5-9 minutes at high pressure. If you don't have time to soak the beans, pressure cook for 15-20 minutes. (www.adzuki.com)

Answer 4

Soak 1/2 cup of beans overnight in ample water. Drain and simmer in 2 cups of water for 40 minutes to an hour.