What Is Red Bean Soup
Red bean soup is a classic dish that everyone in China knows how to make. It is also known as 紅豆湯, a simple and soothing dish that can be served as a starter or a main course.
Red bean soup is a traditional dessert usually eaten during the Chinese New Year. Nowadays, this trendy daily dish can be found anywhere easily in China. It's delicious, simple, and incredibly healthy.
If you're looking for a light and healthy soup that is both easy to make and delicious, then this red bean soup recipe is it.
Ingredients
The ingredients in the red bean soup are dried red beans, dried tangerine peels, black rice, rice cake, dried red date, rock sugar, sweet potato, and water.
Red adzuki beans are the main ingredient. They are small, red beans used in Asian cuisine. They are also called azuki beans.
For the rice cake, I use Korean-style thick cylinders. There are all different kinds and shapes of rice cake out there. You can find it easily in most Asian markets. Keep in mind that you must soak the rice cake 1 hour before cooking if you bought it frozen. You don’t have to soak it if you are able to get the fresh rice cake!
For the rock sugar, in general, rock sugar is milder than pure table sugar. Chinese kitchens use rock sugar for sweetening desserts or for adding shine to braised dishes. You can substitute it with brown sugar if you don’t have rock sugar on hand.
How to Make Red Bean Soup
First, you must soak the red beans in cold water overnight until they become soft, then boil them with water until the beans are soft enough to mash easily with a spoon.
Add black rice, sweet potato, dried tangerine peels, and the soaked rice cake, along with rock sugar. Let the mixture continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until it reached your desired texture. It is ready when it thickens enough so that you don’t see too much liquid on top of the soup. Then sweeten it with rock sugar or honey. You can also add salt if you crave it, I did not. This isn’t necessary because there is still plenty of flavors left from steaming these sweet treats.
Depending on your desired texture and the taste of this dish, this recipe can also be easily modified. Feel free to adjust the amount of the sweet potato, black rice, and rock sugar accordingly.
Two Ways to Serve
You can serve it as it is. Or you can pour the coconut milk/condensed milk on top of the soup if you want more depth of flavor. Both ways taste super yummy! Serve this dish as breakfast, a side dish, the main course, or as dessert!
Conclusion
This dish is my favorite dessert because it is made with simple ingredients. The ingredients for this dessert are straightforward to find in any supermarket, and moreover, the loaded nutrition is excellent. This yummy comfort food is also a classic of so-called Chinese medicine cuisine. The red beans help with heat-related ailments such as sore throat or fever because they are considered cooling foods in traditional Chinese medicine.
Hope you enjoyed reading this post. Give it a try. I love to hear from you, leave your comment below!
Red Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups of dried red adzuki beans soak them overnight
- ⅓ cup black rice
- ½ cup of dried tangerine peels about six pieces
- ½ cup dried red dates
- 2 cup sweet potato peeled and cut to small bite sizes
- ½ cup rice cake any shaped, soak before cooking
- water enough to cover the dried red bean
- 1 cup of rock sugar
- coconut milk or condensed milk optional
Instructions
- Rinse the dried red beans thoroughly under running water until the water runs clear and no traces of dirt remain in the bowl. Add your dried red beans to a pot and cover them with cold water. Let them soak in cold water overnight or for at least 8 hours. Soak the rice cake for about an hour if you are using the frozen rice cake.
- Add enough cold water to cover your soaked red bean. Once boiled, turn it to medium-low heat. Stir occasionally and boil until tender but not mushy, about 1 hour. The beans should be soft enough to mash easily with a spoon.
- Add black rice, sweet potato, red dates, dried tangerine peels, and the soaked rice cake, along with rock sugar. Let the mixture continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until it reaches your desired texture. Remove from the heat.
- Add coconut milk or condensed milk over the red bean soup if you want more depth of flavor.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Nutrition
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