This red bean paste recipe is easy, authentic, and made simple by using adzuki beans sweetened with sugar, which is cooked down to a paste that’s made for filling desserts, stuffed into sesame balls or mochi, used as topping, and yummy for spreading on toast! Make red bean paste smooth or chunky, and adjust sweetness to your liking. You can also use it for savory rice bowls and more. This guide gives you all the steps, and discover everything you want to know about red bean paste.
Table of contents
I often buy fluffy bread rolls stuffed with red bean paste, and I also like mochi with this earthy and not too sweet bean. Both are super easy to find, made freshly at my local Korean market and the Japanese market in my town.
A lot of Asians love red bean paste, from Filipinos adding it as a halo-halo topping, Japanese making pancake like pastries with a red bean stuffing (dorayaki), Chinese use it to fill mooncakes, or Koreans pile it on top of shave iced bingsu on a hot day.
The thing about making this at home, is you can control the texture, ingredients, and sweetness to your preference and most of all… red bean paste tastes the best when it’s fresh!
This homemade version has a rich, earthy sweetness without being overwhelmingly sugary and without adding too much oil (and no seed oils).
You can leave it chunky for buns and rice cakes or blend it smooth for mochi, Japanese pancakes, and other delicate desserts.
And once you have a container of red bean paste in the refrigerator or freezer, you can have it whenever you are craving it.
Let’s go!
What Is Red Bean Paste?
Red bean paste is a sweet paste made from adzuki beans (also spelled azuki beans) and sugar. It’s mostly used in East Asian sweet treats like pastries, mochi, and other desserts.
You may think adzuki bean paste is from Japan, but it started in China and quickly became widespread to other Asian cultures.
It’s strongly associated with Japan because Japan cultivates a high volume of adzuki beans and incorporates red bean paste in a multitude of Japanese desserts and sweet gift confections (wagashi).
Nowadays, red bean paste is globally known and common to find in a majority of Asian markets.
What Is Red Bean Paste Called in Different Asian Countries?
- Japan: Anko (あんこ) or an (餡) – sweet adzuki bean paste. Tsubuan is chunky and koshian is smooth.
- China: Hong dou sha (红豆沙) – sweet red bean paste, commonly used as a filling for pastries, buns, mooncakes, sesame balls, and sticky rice desserts.
- Korea: Danpat (단팥) – sweetened red beans; red bean filling is commonly used in breads, rice cakes, and shaved ice.
- Taiwan: Hong dou sha (紅豆沙) – sweet red bean paste, widely used in pastries, buns, shaved ice, and traditional desserts.
- Hong Kong: Hung dau sa (紅豆沙) – sweet red bean paste, commonly used in buns, pastries, and sweet soups.
- Vietnam: Đậu đỏ – red beans. Sweetened red beans are used in chè, sticky rice desserts, cakes, and other sweets.
- Philippines: Red bean paste is not so common amongst Filipino recipes, but sweetened red beans are used in some modern Asian-inspired desserts, halo halo, and some pastries.
- Modern Asian-American Influence: You can see new ways this paste is being used all over the United States like in bubble tea shops where it is mixed into milkteas, boba drinks, layered into ice creams, and even in cupcake frosting.
Popular adzuki filled Desserts by Culture
Japanese
- Ogura toast– Very popular home food, kids snack, and easy breakfast. It’s toasted bread topped with sweet red bean paste and butter.
- Daifuku– chewy mochi filled with sweet red bean paste; strawberry daifuku adds a fresh strawberry inside.
- Dorayaki– soft, fluffy Japanese pancakes sandwiched with red bean paste.
- Taiyaki– fish-shaped cakes traditionally filled with adzuki paste.
- Anpan– soft Japanese sweet bread with a red bean paste center.
- Zenzai & Oshiruko– warm sweet red bean desserts served with chewy mochi.
Chinese
- Red bean buns– soft steamed or baked buns filled with sweet red bean paste.
- Red bean mooncakes– traditional pastries filled with a smooth, rich red bean filling. These are popular during holidays, like New Year’s.
- Sesame balls– chewy glutinous rice balls coated in sesame seeds and filled with red bean paste.
- Red bean pastries– flaky or tender Chinese pastries filled with sweet red bean paste.
- Red bean sticky rice cakes– chewy glutinous rice desserts layered or filled with red bean paste.
Korean
- Patbingsu– shaved ice topped with sweet red beans and other toppings such as fruit, condensed milk, or rice cakes.
- Bungeoppang– fish-shaped Korean pastries traditionally filled with sweet red bean paste.
- Jjinppang– soft steamed buns filled with sweet red bean paste.
- Chapssaltteok– chewy Korean rice cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.
- Danpatjuk– a sweet red bean porridge often served warm with rice cake pieces.
Taiwanese
- Red bean shaved ice– shaved ice topped with sweet red beans and other toppings such as taro, fruit, or condensed milk.
- Red bean mochi– chewy rice cakes filled with sweet red bean paste.
- Red bean buns– soft breads filled with sweet red bean paste, commonly enjoyed as a snack or breakfast.
Vietnamese
- Chè đậu đỏ– a sweet red bean dessert that can be served with coconut milk, sticky rice, or other sweet toppings.
- Xôi đậu đỏ– sticky rice cooked with red beans and served as a sweet or lightly savory rice dish.
What Does it Taste Like?
This paste has a mild, earthy bean flavor with nutty notes. It’s not sweet, except for a very tiny bit, like a very mild purple sweet potato and chestnuts.
Sugar is added, giving the red bean paste it’s sweetness.
A little salt is important because it makes the sweet taste more balanced and brings out the flavor of the beans. Kinda like when you put salt on chocolate or caramel, salt will bring out the flavor.
What Kind of Beans Are Used for red bean paste?
Use dried adzuki beans, also spelled azuki beans.
They are small reddish-brown beans commonly found at Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and other Asian grocery stores.
They are sometimes simply labeled red beans, but don’t confuse them with large red kidney beans.
Adzuki beans are the only traditional choice for sweet red bean paste.
Look for beans that are relatively uniform in size and don’t look excessively old or shriveled. Older beans can take longer to soften.
Do not use kidney or other red beans, and try to make this recipe from scratch, not canned red beans.
Tsubuan vs. Koshian: What’s the Difference?
It’s like choosing between smooth or chunky peanut butter. Which one do you like? Both styles are good, it just depends what you prefer when making your desserts or dishes.
Tsubuan, or the chunkier style is much easier to make. I prefer that one for taste and texture and it saves lots of time and is one easy step. If you are a beginner, you might want to try this style first.
There are two major Japanese styles of anko.
Tsubuan
Tsubuan (つぶあん) is chunky red bean paste where the beans are not totally mashed and some skins are slightly intact.
It is good for:
- Anpan
- Dorayaki
- Taiyaki
- Red bean buns
- Toast
- Pancakes
- Zenzai
Koshian
Koshian (こしあん) is smooth. You can try to remove the skins or blend until super smooth. Push the paste through a wire mesh strainer will help remove skins.
Koshian is especially nice for:
- Daifuku
- Strawberry daifuku
- Sakura mochi
- Manju
- Smooth dessert fillings
- Oshiruko
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup dried adzuki beans
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar – add more sugar to your preference
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Leftover Bean Water, as needed
- 1 tsp avocado oil or coconut oil
- Water for boiling the beans
Equipment
- Pot
- Wooden Spoon
- Wire mesh strainer/sieve (optional)
Instructions How to Make Red Bean Paste
Follow these step by step instructions how to make the adzuki paste (chunky or smooth) and see the recipe card below for fully detailed out measurements, equipment, and steps.
- Pick out beans that look shrived, discolored, or broken. Heat a pot of boiling water and add adzuki beans with the water being three inches above the beans so they are fully submerged.
- Bring to a boil for five minutes, drain the water, and re-add clean water. Bring to a boil again.
- Cook the beans for one hour and fifteen minutes, checking the tenderness and adding more time as needed. The beans are the perfect tender texture when they easily mash in between your fingers, but are not too mushy/overcooked.
- Be sure they are tender throughout and not firm! They must be soft.
- When the red beans are very tender and soft, drain the water very well. If you want a smooth red bean paste, leave 4 tablespoons of the water.
- Blend the beans in a food processor for the easiest and fastest method. Pulse for a chunky texture red bean paste. For a smooth red bean paste, you can push the beans through a wire mesh strainer with the back of a wooden spoon, or blend until very smooth.
- Over low heat, add the avocado oil to the pot, then add back the mashed red beans and add sugar slowly. Mixing and dissolving the sugar and tasting, adding more sugar if you like. Add the pinch of salt and mix well.
- Very consistently stir the mixture, scraping the bottom of the pot so the red bean paste will thicken as the water evaporates, but not burn and stick to the pot.
- As soon as the paste is thick and shows that it can stick to the spoon, remove from the heat and transfer to a clean plate or jars, allowing the red bean paste to cool down and further thicken. The paste will continue to thicken while it cools.
How Thick Should Red Bean Paste Be?
This condiment and filling is usually lighter consistency than peanut butter. It should stick to a spoon, but be spoonable and fluffy-like. This is good for spreading, toppings, stuffing pastries and breads.
If you are making mochi, sesame balls, moon cakes, or need to shape the red bean paste, cook until more water is evaporated and thicken up the texture of the paste so you can roll it in a ball if needed. It needs to hold more shape in those desserts and snacks.
Toast or pancakes:
Keep it slightly softer and spreadable.
For mochi:
Make it thick enough to roll into small balls.
Steamed buns:
Make it thick enough that it doesn’t ooze out of the dough.
When making mooncakes: Add more oil (and maltose if you have it) when making mooncakes, so the red bean paste holds a lot of shape, is more pliable, and sets firmly in the mooncake molds.
5 Easy and Fun Ways to Use Adzuki Paste
Make a small batch and keep the paste in a mason jar in the fridge. Now you can use it whenever you want. You don’t need to make a specific or “extra” Japanese or Chinese dessert every time you have red bean paste.
Here are 5 really common and easy ways to use it.
Red Bean Toast
Easy and very homey and common. Spread on warm toast with a little butter.
You need:
- Toast
- Red bean paste
- Butter
- sesame seeds sprinkles, optional
- honey drizzle, optional
Red Bean Banana Toast
Like the top one but enhanced. This and banana go together nicely and kids love it.
You need:
- Toast
- Red bean paste
- 1/2 banana
- Sesame seeds, optional
Spread the paste over toast and top with sliced banana.
Easy Red Bean Paste Pancakes
You don’t need to make Japanese dorayaki batter from scratch. Just use your favorite pancakes or even crepes.
You need:
- 2 pancakes
- 2–3 tablespoons red bean paste
- Butter or whipped cream, optional
Spread between two warm pancakes.
For something closer to Japanese dorayaki, make small and thin pancakes and sandwich them together with the paste.
Dorayaki is traditionally made from two soft pancake-like cakes with the filling between them. (Wikipedia)
Foodie Level Tip: Fold some of the paste in whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and load your pancakes up!
Quick Red Bean Mochi
Use store-bought mochi wrappers, premade and store bought fresh mochi, or simple homemade microwave mochi.
Place a small ball of red bean paste in the center, wrap it with mochi dough, and pinch closed.
For store bought mochi, just spread the paste on top and enjoy.
Try adding a fresh strawberry inside with the mochi.
Red Bean Milk Drink
This is one of the easiest ways to use a large amount of paste and it’s inspired by Japanese oshiruko which is a red bean soup with mochi balls and my love for bubble tea. I took the idea of a soup that’s drinkable and made a latte with red bean paste… was amazing!
Add:
- 1/2 cup red bean paste
- 1/2–3/4 cup water
- ice
- tapioca pearls, boba balls, or mochi pieces
- milk of choice or Asian dessert milk (has condensed milk)
- shot of espresso (optional)
- large glass
Mix the red bean paste with water and heat until the red bean paste is watery and mixed in well.
Add it to a cup with ice, add the milk of choice (using Asian milk adds condensed milk which makes it more sweet, and add extra chewy textures with tapioca pearls.
Pour a shot of espresso in for an energy boost!
Best Tips
- Be sure to wash the beans well and do a quick boil, drain, then boil with fresh water. This gives a very pure red bean taste, and helps sweep out any impurities.
- Cook the beans till tender. They need to be very soft, soft enough to press with your fingertips so the texture is smooth and velvety.
- The paste will further thicken when it cools down, so remove from the heat BEFORE it gets dry or too thick.
- Remember that either texture if fine. Chunky or smooth. It’s what you prefer and if you choose smooth, try to push it through a wire mesh strainer to get some of the skin removed for a silkier result.
Storage and Leftovers
- Store homemade red bean paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Let it cool before refrigerating, and don’t leave it at room temperature for extended periods.
- Can you freeze red bean paste? Yes. Freeze in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months for best quality. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- You can freeze the paste in ball shapes as well.
FAQs
Can you make red bean paste without a blender?
Yes. You can use a ricer, mash potato masher, fork, or wooden spatula to press the beans down.
Can you make red bean paste in an Instant Pot?
A pressure cooker will speed the cooking time. Just be sure the beans turn out soft.
Do you need to soak adzuki beans?
No. You can cook them without soaking. I recommend bringing them to a boil, draining, then boiling again in fresh water before simmering until soft. This can help reduce bitterness and produce a cleaner flavor.
Why is my red bean paste not smooth?
If the beans are even a tiny bit undercooked, the paste will feel a bit hard and imbalanced.
My red bean paste too thin. What do I do?
Simmer it over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until excess moisture evaporates. Remember that the paste thickens as it cools.
My red bean paste too thick. What do I do?
Lower heat, add in hot water (little by little) to thin it out.
Why did my red bean paste burn?
Red bean paste can burn and thicken quickly. Be sure to use low heat and constant stirring.
The red bean paste purple instead of red. Is that normal?
Homemade versions of this recipe are naturally more brownish-purplish versus store bought which could be colorized and processed.
Is using canned red beans ok?
For the closest flavor and texture, use canned or vacuum-packed sweet adzuki beans from an Asian grocery store. Ordinary canned kidney beans aren’t a good substitute.
Can I use brown sugar instead of white sugar?
You could, but that alters the flavor from traditional styles you may be more familiar with. You can combine the white with brown sugar for those caramel notes without it being too overpowering.
Red bean paste is easy to make and you can choose to be a simple as spreading it on toast, or as elevated as wrapping it into bouncy and delicate mochi. Make a batch, gift some, save some, create, and enjoy!
Red Bean Paste
Equipment
- pot to boil water
- Wooden spoon
- Wire mesh strainer/sieve optional – for extra smooth paste
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup dried adzuki beans
- ¾ cup granulated sugar – add more sugar to your preference
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Leftover Bean Water as needed
- 1 tsp avocado oil or coconut oil
- Water for boiling the beans
Instructions
- Pick out beans that look shrived, discolored, or broken. Heat a pot of boiling water and add adzuki beans with the water being three inches above the beans so they are fully submerged.Bring to a boil for five minutes, drain the water, and re-add clean water. Bring to a boil again.1 ½ cup dried adzuki beans, Water for boiling the beans
- Cook the beans for one hour and fifteen minutes, checking the tenderness and adding more time as needed. The beans are the perfect tender texture when they easily mash in between your fingers, but are not too mushy/overcooked.
- When the red beans are very tender and soft, drain the water very well. If you want a smooth red bean paste, leave 4 tablespoons of the water.
- Blend the beans in a food processor for the easiest and fastest method. Pulse for a chunky texture red bean paste. For a smooth red bean paste, you can push the beans through a wire mesh strainer with the back of a wooden spoon, or blend until very smooth.Leftover Bean Water
- Over low heat, add the avocado oil to the pot, then add back the mashed red beans and add sugar slowly. Mixing and dissolving the sugar and tasting, adding more sugar if you like. Add the pinch of salt and mix well.¾ cup granulated sugar – add more sugar to your preference, 1 tsp avocado oil or coconut oil, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Very consistently stir the mixture, scraping the bottom of the pot so the red bean paste will thicken as the water evaporates, but not burn and stick to the pot.As soon as the paste is thick and shows that it can stick to the spoon, remove from the heat and transfer to a clean plate or jars, allowing the red bean paste to cool down and further thicken.
Notes
- cool the beans until they are soft enough to easily press between your fingertips
- stir consistently
- keep a little leftover bean water to smooth the paste
- The paste will further thicken when it cools down, so remove from the heat BEFORE it gets dry or too thick.
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