← Nouns Cooking · Dessert Parlour

Ingredients

• 250 g Dried adzuki (red) beans, rinsed
• 1 piece Dried tangerine peel (chenpi)
• 2 l Water
• 120 g rock sugar or caster sugar, or to taste
• 1 pinch Salt
• 2 tbsp small tapioca pearls (optional)

Method

1. Soak the beans in plenty of cold water overnight. Drain.
2. Soak the tangerine peel in warm water for 20 min until soft, then scrape off the white pith with a knife, which is bitter.
3. Put the beans, peel and 2 litres of water in a large pot. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 15 min, stirring now and then, until the beans are very soft and starting to burst.
4. Uncover and simmer for 15–20 min more, stirring and mashing some beans against the side of the pot to thicken the soup. Add a splash of water if it gets too thick.
5. If using tapioca pearls, add them for the last 10 min and stir until clear.
6. Stir in the sugar and salt until dissolved, taste, and serve hot, or chill and serve cold.

Tips

• One small piece of peel is plenty; too much makes the soup bitter.
• A pressure cooker cuts the simmering to about 30 min and you can skip the overnight soak.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Food Network Scruff & Steph