Red Bean Paste / Adzuki Paste

This Red Bean Paste or Adzuki paste is a staple in some asian cuisine as well as in japanese confectionery. It is made of adzuki beans or red beans that is boiled, mashed and sweetened. It has a  nutty and sweet flavor that complements light breads and rice flour treats. I decided to make some as I had always been a fan of munggo bread, munggo hopia and even ginisang munggo. I know they are different things as munggo is mung beans after all, but that familiar nutty taste makes me root for it as well and also one of the main reason I decided to make it is because I had had been on a glutinous rice flour treat frenzy these days and I needed something to fill my mochi. Anyway, enough with all the talking and lets make some sweet paste! :)

Red Bean Paste / Adzuki Paste

Ingredients:

1 cup red beans
5 cups water
1 cup brown sugar


Instructions:

1.In a pot over medium high heat, boil beans for 5 minutes and
   discard water, then boil again until soft and water has
   evaporated, around 45 minutes (If beans are still hard, add water to prevent it from burning)
2. Mash the cooked beans into a paste until creamy then add the sugar. (alternatively, you can also        use a blender if you want a smoother paste)
3. Cook the bean paste again with continuous stirring until sugar has melted. about 8-10
   minutes.
4. Let cool then transfer in a clean container. Enjoy it as filling
   to breads, buns and even mochi! :)

Note: Bean paste will dry out and harden as it sets so make
sure to remove from fire when you get it to a little liquidy
paste-like consistency.