Sweet Red Bean Soup is a very popular dessert in Chinese and Taiwanese households. Restaurants often serve it at the end of a meal, especially at a banquet.
This sweet red bean soup dessert dish has many health benefits. It is very easy to make and is good for all ages.
I had it since I was very young and although it is dessert, I often have it for breakfast with an easy lemon blueberry muffin or a steamed bun. Strange, isn’t it? Give it a try!!!
Ingredients
- red beans
- brown sugar
See recipe card for quantities.
Health Benefits
- Red Beans - red beans are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin B, potassium and iron. There are Adzuki beans and ordinary red beans. You can find them in Asian and Chinese grocery stores. Ordinary red beans are round in shape, have a neutral energy and are normally used to promote energy circulation and menstrual flow. They are good for hernia, abdominal pain and the suppression of menstruation. Adzuki beans are long. They are good for edema, beriberi, jaundice, diarrhea, carbuncle swelling, mumps, and cirrhotic ascites.
- Brown Sugar - brown sugar is warm, sweet and used as an energy tonic. It promotes blood circulation; counteracts or eliminates blood coagulations; affects the liver, spleen, and stomach. If you don’t have brown sugar, you can use white (granulated) sugar. They both are obtained from the juice of the sugar cane. White sugar is neutral; sweet; lubricates the lungs; produces fluids; and affects the spleen.
Instructions
- Use Tatung Rice Cooker
I like to use Tatung rice cooker to cook this delicious and healthy red been soup because I can set and forget. I don't have to monitor it during cooking and worry about burning it!
Rinse the beans under cold water and then add enough water in the bowl about 1-2 inches above the beans.
Soak the beans for 4-5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, but no more than 24 hours.
After soaking, drain the beans, then rinse and wash them thoroughly.
Add two rice cups of water in the outer pot of the rice cooker.
The rice cooker comes with an inner pot. I call the rice cooker itself an outer pot because the water in the outer pot determines the length of cooking time.
Transfer the beans to the inner pot of the rice cooker after draining.
Add fresh water in the inner pot and put the inner pot in the rice cooker.
Cover with the lid and press the level down. The COOK light will be red (on.) While it's cooking, the steam will come out of the rice cooker but do not worry! When it's done, the level will be up and the red light will go off. At this time, let it rest for 20 minutes without peeking (lifting the lid.)
After 20 minutes, remove the lid and add two rice cups of water to the outer pot again. Replace the lid and press the level down to cook more. When the red light goes off, let it rest for 20 minutes. We are doing this step twice!
After the second 20-minute rest, it's time to sweeten the soup.
Add sugar to the soup and a half rice cup of water to the outer pot. Cover with the lid and press the level down to cook and dissolve the sugar.
When the red light goes off again, stir the soup and give it a taste. Add more sugar if you like it sweeter.
Once you're happy with the sweetness, transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
- Stovetop Cooking
No worries if you don't have a Tatung rice cooker. Here is the process if you don't have one: After soaking and washing the beans, transfer the beans to a medium-sized pot and add fresh water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to simmer for 1 ½ hours. If the soup is too thick of your liking, add additional water as needed during cooking. When the beans are cooked, it's time to add sugar. Stir the soup, and give it a taste. Add more sugar if you like it sweeter, then transfer to a serving bowl and serve!
Substitutions
If you don't have brown sugar, granulated white sugar or any other sweetener (raw sugar, honey, rock sugar) will work too.
Equipment
Tatung Rice Cooker - this is a multi-functional rice cooker and steamer that is great for preparing hot fluffy rice, steaming veggies, meat, a variety of other dishes, and this sweet red bean soup. The cooker comes with an inner pot, a lid for the inner pot, a rice measuring cup, a spatula and a steaming rack.
Storage
Store the sweet red bean soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat using microwave oven or stovetop to enjoy again, or try it cold. You can freeze it in portions and simply defrost in the refrigerator and reheat to serve.
Top Tips
The bean-to-water ratio is 1:4, meaning 1 part of dried beans with 4 parts of water. You can adjust the quantity easily. For example, double the recipe and freeze it for later. I usually double the recipe to minimize the effort of cooking although using the Tatung rice cooker has made making this dessert a breeze because almost no effort is required!!!
Add sugar after cooking because the beans will not soften if sugar is added too early.
The soup's consistency will become thicker as it cools. To thin it, simply add a little water, mix well and reheat using stovetop or microwave oven.
Sweet Red Bean Soup
Equipment
- Tatung Rice Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 cup red beans
- 4 cups water
- ¼ cup brown sugar to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the beans under cold water and add enough water in the bowl about 1-2 inches above the beans. Soak the beans for 4-5 hours or overnight in the refrigerator, but no more than 24 hours. After soaking, drain the beans, rinse and wash thoroughly.
- Add two rice cups of water in the outer pot of the rice cooker.
- Transfer the beans to the inner pot of the rice cooker.
- Add fresh water in the inner pot and put the inner pot in the rice cooker.
- Cover with the lid, press the level down and the 'cook' light will be red (on.) While it's cooking, the steam will come out of the rice cooker. The level will be up and the red light will go off when it's done. At this time, let it rest for 20 minutes without peaking (lifting the lid.)After 20 minutes, lift the lid and add two rice cups of water to the outer pot again. Replace the lid and press the level down to cook more. When the red light goes off, let it rest 20 minutes. We are doing Step 5 twice!
- After the second rest, it's time to sweeten the soup. Add sugar to the soup and a half rice cup of water to the outer pot. Cover with the lid and press the level down to cook and dissolve the sugar. When the red light goes off again, stir the soup and give it a taste. Add more sugar if you like it sweeter. Once you're happy with it, transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!
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