So it’s been a while since I posted here. I blame Corona Virus. No, I’m not sick, but with Amazon Prime delivery suddenly taking weeks or even up to a month, I was waiting on ingredients. Hopefully the world will get back to normal soon and we can go back to our world of instant gratification. Or maybe not. Maybe going back to a slower, more locally oriented way of life wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Anyway, on to today’s recipe.
One more subtle variation on the theme here. Azukigayu is the Japanese version of Hong Dou Zhou, the savory version of the red bean porridges I’ve been playing with lately. In terms of ingredients, they’re pretty much the same- adzuki beans, rice, water. I chose to present this one to show variation in technique. In the Hong Dou Zhou I cooked the rice and beans together, while in this one I cook the beans separately and then use a small amount of their cooking liquid to add color and flavor to the rice water.
You will notice there is no salt in the recipe. From my research this seems to be the common practice, allowing people to season to their taste. All of my suggested toppings are salty, so do try some of them before jumping straight to the salt shaker.
Speaking of toppings. Furikake* is rice seasoning. There are many different varieties, but nori furikake seems to be the easiest to find, at least on Amazon. Gomashio is also a type of furikake that I think Americans are maybe more familiar with. Umebosi* are salted plums. And negimiso is a sauce or paste made with onion or leeks and miso, and was definately my favorite topping. The sweetness of the onion combined with the umame-salty miso flavor worked very well with the bland bean and rice mixture.
Azukigayu
Serves: 3-4
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook 1:20-1:45, depending on type or rice used.
13 Tablespoons raw adzuki beans
3 cups water
OR
1 cup cooked adzuki beans
¾ cup rice
OR
¾ cup brown rice
4 ½ cups water OR fish stock
1 cake mochi, cut into bite size pieces.
Gomashio
Furikake
Umeboshi
Negimiso
Rinse beans. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Drain and discard water. Cover again with 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender, about one hour. Drain beans, reserving a few tablespoons of cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, Rinse rice until water runs clear, and soak in cold water. When beans are cooked, drain rice, cover with 5 cups of water and the about 4 tablespoons of the reserved bean cooking liquid, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until rice is soft. Add beans and mochi and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mochi is soft.
Serve, garnished with gomashio, furikake, umeboshi or negimiso.
*I receive no compensation for mentioning this product.
Lorin cooks Legumes 