You can buy ready-made red bean paste in cans, but if you want to control sweetness and texture, making your own is simple and rewarding.
Red bean paste is one of my favorite fillings in Asian desserts. Store-bought pastes are often very sweet and may include preservatives, coloring, or added oil. Making paste at home lets you tailor the sweetness and consistency — from chunky to silky smooth — depending on the dessert you plan to use it in.
About Red Bean Paste
Also called: red bean jam, adzuki bean paste, 豆沙 (dòushā), 紅豆沙 (hóngdòushā), 餡 (an), 餡子 (anko), 小倉 (ogura), 小豆餡 (azukian), 粒餡 (tsubuan), 潰し餡 (tsubushian), 漉し餡 (koshian), 晒し餡 (sarashian), 단팥 (danpat), 팥소 (patso)
Made from adzuki beans, red bean paste is common in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean sweets. Beans are boiled, mashed, then sweetened to taste. Preparing it takes some time but is straightforward, and the homemade version avoids unnecessary additives while letting you control texture and sweetness.
There are two main textures: chunky (mashed) and smooth. Both start the same way, but a smooth paste requires pureeing and straining to remove husks for a velvety finish.
Tips on Making Red Bean Paste
1. Soak the beans overnight
Soaking adzuki beans for 8–12 hours is optional but shortens cooking time and can make beans easier to digest. Cover the beans with water and soak, then drain. For the initial boil, cover beans with fresh water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, then drain again to remove impurities before the slow simmer.
2. Mash to your preferred texture
Choose chunky or smooth depending on the recipe. Chunky paste keeps some broken beans and husk, while smooth paste is pureed and strained to remove husks. To make chunky paste quickly, use a hand blender or mashers. For smooth paste, puree all cooked beans in a food processor and push the puree through a sieve. Combining pureed beans with some unprocessed beans gives a semi-smooth texture. Mechanical tools save a lot of effort compared to hand-mashing.
3. Add sugar in batches
Adding sugar in portions lets you adjust sweetness as you go. Stir sugar into the warm mashed beans in two or three additions, making sure it dissolves each time. The mixture will appear shiny and slightly loose while hot and will thicken as it cools. Chill in the refrigerator to firm it completely before storing or using.
Storage
Red bean paste is perishable. Cool it completely, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate if you plan to use it within a week or two. It keeps about 1–2 weeks in the fridge and up to a month in the freezer.
Recipes that Use Red Bean Paste
Red bean paste works well in many desserts and snacks. Consider using it in rice cakes, dango, mochi, ice cream, or sweetened milk drinks.
- Red Bean and Sesame Rice Cake
- Dango with Red Bean Paste
- Red Bean Mochi with Kinako
- Red Bean Ice Cream
- Iced Matcha Milk with Red Bean
Red Bean Paste
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) adzuki red bean, soaked overnight
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Wash and drain the soaked adzuki beans. In a large pot, add beans and enough water to sit 1 inch above the beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, then drain and discard the water.
- Return the beans to the pot and add fresh water to sit 1 inch above the beans. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat until beans are soft and easily breakable, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn off the heat and let cool 20 minutes.
- Strain and discard the cooking liquid. Use a hand blender to coarsely mash the beans; add a little water if needed to help mashing.
- Place mashed beans back in the pot over medium heat. Add granulated sugar in three batches, stirring constantly and tasting to adjust sweetness. Stir in salt and remove from heat.
- Allow the paste to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container and refrigerating.