Japanese Yokan

Hey fellow readers! So a reader sent me an email requesting a recipe for "Japanese Yokan." At first sight I was like, "what?" but eventually after looking it up, I found out it was sort of a red bean jello type dessert. I realized that I had it before and was eager to make it. Looking up recipes, I found a few that I liked.

The ingredients are simple. Nothing is too exotic except for the agar agar which can be found in Asian groceries.Are you excited to try this? I was! Ready, set...cook!

Japanese Yokan

Ingredients:

First group:
1 cup of red adzuki beans soaked overnight
cold water
1 cup of sugar ( a little less is okay too)
1 teaspoon of salt

Second group:
1 1" x 1" x 11" stick of agar-agar
2 cups of cold water
1 1/4 cups of sugar ( a little less is okay too)
1/2 tsp of salt

Procedure:

1.To create the first group of ingredients, drain the water off of the beans and put them in a deep heavy-bottomed saucepan. Fill the pan 3/4 of the way full with cold water.
2. Turn up the heat to high and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for approximately 1-1/2 hours or until the bean shells break open and become soft. If too much water boils away or is absorbed by the beans, add more water.
3. Drain the beans in a colander and mash the beans lightly. Put the mixture back into the saucepan and add the salt. Add the sugar gradually and mix well.
4.Set the saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan clean when you stir. Remove pan from the heat.
5. To create the second group of ingredients, pour the cold water into a clean saucepan. Break the agar-agar stick into the pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the agar-agar has melted, add the sugar and stir.
6. Pour through a fine strainer into another saucepan. Add the salt and the bean paste and stir until smooth. Set over medium heat and cook, stirring every minute or two, for approximately 20 minutes or until the mixture becomes thickened and has the shade of chocolate pudding.
7. Pour cooked mixture into baking pan and allow to sit until completely cool. Cut into 1-1/2" squares.

Thanks for reading and keep suggesting recipes :) Enjoy!

Hearts <3,

Xin Yi