The Sweet Red Bean Soup My Dad's Made 100,000 Times

Method3 steps

1. 1

   Step 1: Rinse the small red dessert beans twice, draining each time. Soak in separate clean water sufficient to submerge them for at least 1 hour, up to overnight, refrigerated for a long soak; do not soak beyond a day. Wash the dried lotus seeds (2 oz) and lily bulbs and soak them separately in enough clean water to submerge for at least 1 hour. Drain the soaked ingredients before cooking.

   Soak red beans · 480 minUses 14 oz dried small red adzuki beans, for Cantonese dessert soup · 2 oz dried lotus seeds · 2 oz dried lily bulbs · Water, for rinsing and soaking beans, lotus seeds and lily bulbs, as needed

2. 2

   Step 2: Put the drained soaked beans from step 1 in a large pot with the separate 4 cups cooking water, 1/2 tsp salt and dried mandarin peel. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady low simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the drained soaked lotus seeds and lily bulbs from step 1 and simmer for about another hour, until all are tender. Throughout cooking, check the liquid and add extra hot water as needed to keep the beans submerged and prevent the soup drying/scorching. Cool a test bean enough to handle before checking that it crushes easily. Continue simmering if not tender; the source also permits a softer texture with longer simmering.

   First simmer checkpoint · 30 minUses Drained soaked small red dessert beans · Drained soaked lotus seeds and lily bulbs, added after the first 30-minute simmer · 1 piece dried mandarin peel · 4 cups water, for soup cooking, plus more as needed · 1/2 tsp salt · Extra water, for maintaining cooking liquid and diluting thick soup, as needed

3. 3

   Step 3: When the beans, lotus seeds and lily bulbs in the soup from step 2 are tender, add the 2 oz rock sugar and 6 oz brown sugar, stirring until dissolved. For a thicker sandy texture, gently press some cooked beans with a ladle. Alternatively, make the source optional 1:2 cornstarch-to-cold-water slurry and stir it in gradually, simmering until thickened; the source gives no fixed amount, so use only as needed and reserve unused clean slurry. If too thick, dilute with extra water. Taste and add extra sugar only if needed. Serve warm, or cool promptly and refrigerate leftovers to reheat or serve cold.

   Uses Tender red-bean/lotus/lily soup · 2 oz rock sugar · 6 oz brown sugar · Cornstarch, for an optional 1:2 cornstarch-to-water slurry, as needed · Cold water, twice the cornstarch amount in the optional slurry · Extra water, for maintaining cooking liquid and diluting thick soup, as needed · Extra sugar, only if needed after tasting the finished soup