Hong Dou Sha (Sweet Red Bean Paste) is a traditional Chinese recipe for a classic sweet red bean paste typically used as a filling for dessert dumplings, buns and pastries. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Chinese version of: Sweet Red Bean Paste (Hong Dou Sha).
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You know that old adage about buses… you wait an hour and no bus appears; then, suddenly three appear all at one. Well, it’s been rather like that for me with sweet red bean paste (红豆沙). This is the classic Chinese sweet filling and I’ve been searching for a recipe for years. Then, this past week, I come across three of them. This recipe is a blend of those three recipes, with a few tweaks of my own on top. You start with red adzuki beans and end up with a thick, sweet, and slightly savoury paste. Maltose is used as the main source of sweetness. I really like this and the blend of sweet and savoury is really interesting… indeed my wife will use this instead of honey at breakfast. Classically, of course, it’s used as a filling for steamed buns and baked mini pies. It is the most loved, and most versatile sweet filling in Chinese cookery. I used my electric multi-cooker on the pressure cooker setting to cook the beans --- it makes things much faster. You can, of course, cook the beans on a stove just increase the water to 1l (4 cups). If using the stove don’t forget to soak the beans in a large bowl of water over-night first.
Ingredients:
500g (1 lb) dried adzuki beans
850ml (3 ½ cups) water
250ml (1 cup) vegetable oil
200g rock sugar (or granulated sugar)
100-150g (1/3-1/2 cup) maltose
Method:
Wash and drain the beans in a colander, then put in your electric (or stove-top) pressure cooker with the water. I used the bean setting (it may be the chilli setting on some machines) and set the timer to 30 minutes, allowing it to cool naturally for 10 minutes before opening. Note the cooking time may vary depending on the size of the beans and how dry they may be. After 10 minutes of natural cooling release the valve and allow the pressure to release. If the beans are not quite done I use the stew setting, add 100ml water and boil until tender. When done the beans will be soft enough to be easily mashed with the back of a spoon.
Allow the beans to cool, then turn into a food processor. Pulse to chop then process until smooth.
Add 4 tbsp of the oil to a saucepan over medium-low heat. When hot, stir in the bean paste, cook, stirring frequently, for 15 minutes then add 4 tbsp more oil. Every 10 minutes during cooking add 4 tbsp more oil until all the oil has been incorporated. Stir continuously with a rubber spatula cook the beans for 40 minutes. At this point stir in the sugar and cook, stirring, until you have a thick paste. Finally, stir in the maltose. Continue cooking until the red bean paste is thick enough to hold its shape.
Take the pan off the heat and set aside to cool before storing or using. Potted in an air-tight jar it will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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