Everything about The Azuki totally explained
The
azuki bean (also spelled
adzuki or
aduki) is an
annual vine widely grown throughout
East Asia and the
Himalayas for its small (approximately 5 mm)
bean. The
cultivars most familiar in north-east Asia have a uniform red color, but white, black, gray and variously mottled varieties are also known. Scientists presume
Vigna angularis var. nipponensis is the progenitor.
Genetic evidence indicates that the azuki bean was first domesticated in the Himalayas. It was cultivated in
China and
Korea before
1000 BC. It was later taken to
Japan, where it's now the second most popular legume after the
soybean.
Names
The name
azuki is a transliteration of the native
Japanese name. Japanese also has a Chinese
loanword,
Shōzu (小豆), which means "small bean" (its counterpart "large bean" (大豆;
Daizu) being the
soybean). It is common to write 小豆 in
kanji but pronounce it as
azuki .
In
China, the corresponding name is still used in botanical or agricultural parlance. However in everyday
Chinese, the more common word is
hongdou (紅豆;
hóngdòu), meaning "
red bean", because almost all Chinese cultivars are uniformly red. In English-language discussions of Chinese topics, the term "red bean" is often used (especially in reference to
red bean paste), but in other contexts this usage can cause confusion with
other beans that are also red.
The Korean name is
pat (
hangul: ), and in Vietnamese it's called
đậu đỏ.
Uses
In
East Asian cuisine the azuki bean is almost always eaten sweetened. In particular, it's often boiled with sugar, resulting in red bean paste, a very common ingredient in all three cuisines; it's also common to add flavoring to the bean paste, such as chestnut.
Red bean paste is used in many
Chinese foods, such as
tangyuan,
zongzi,
mooncakes,
baozi, and
red bean ice.
It is also used as a filling for
Japanese sweets such as
anmitsu,
taiyaki (Korean:
bungeoppang), and
daifuku. A more liquid version, using azuki beans boiled with sugar,
lotus seeds, and orange peel, produces a sweet dish called
red bean soup. Azuki beans are also commonly eaten
sprouted, or boiled in a hot,
tea-like drink.
In Japan, rice with azuki beans (;
sekihan) is traditionally cooked for auspicious occasions. Azuki beans are also used to produce
amanattō, and as a popular flavour of
ice cream.
Azuki beans, along with butter and sugar, form the basis of the popular
Somali supper dish
cambuulo.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Azuki'.
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