INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
Start by washing and rinsing the red beans prior to soaking. Soak the red beans overnight. When you’re ready to start cooking the paste, transfer the red beans and about 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) of the water to a medium (2 qt.) pot. Ensure that the water level is about ¼" above the red beans. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to simmer. Cook the beans until completely softened, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. This should take about 40 minutes to 1 hour, but can vary widely depending on the age of the beans. Very old beans may never soften, so make sure to buy high quality beans.
Remove the cover, and continue cooking the beans until the water has cooked off, and the beans have a thick texture. Since we are making a paste, you don’t want a lot of liquid in the beans. Be careful, because as more water cooks off, burning the beans is very easy to do.
When the beans have a thick consistency, transfer to a food processor. Depending on the size of yours, you may need to process the bean mixture in batches. Process until the mixture is totally smooth. If you like your red bean paste chunky, skip this step or process to desired consistency. Transfer the paste back to the pot.
Heat the paste over medium-low heat. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Then add the butter. More butter means a richer paste. You can also use vegetable oil at this step, but butter adds a more pleasant flavor. Cook the paste for an additional 20-30 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the pot to prevent burning/sticking, until the paste is thick enough to hold its shape.
Quick disclaimer here: It won’t look like the packaged red bean paste you get at the store because those pastes have enormous amounts of sugar and oil added to make them sticky and dark. We’re going for a more natural Chinese bakery red bean paste here. If you like the store-bought red bean paste, feel free to take a shortcut and use that!
Set aside and let cool for an hour or so before using.