#pokenom

I'm basing this recipe off of the one found in Tanoshii Wagashi by Yamashita Masataka and as such, we'll be starting from scratch. If waiting for beans to soak overnight isn't your thing, you can substitute the Koshian we will make with store bought red bean paste. Just skip down the the "Mizu Yokan" section of the recipe for now. If you wish to use them, you can find canned red beans in your local asian market along with the powdered Agar (or Kanten) needed for this recipe.

++ Koshian ++

ITEMS

Dry Red Beans (Adzuki)                500 g

Water                                            as needed

Baking Soda                                 1 tsp

Sugar                                            as needed

Salt                                                pinch

EQUIP

Large cook pot

Colander

Mesh strainer or coarse sieve

Rubber spatula or wooden spoon

Large bowl

Cheesecloth

Small cook pot

WALKTHROUGH

1) Cover the Adzuki beans with 4 cups of water and leave overnight to soak. When you're ready to continue the next day, drain and rinse them before moving on.

2) Place the rinsed beans in a large pot over high heat with just enough water to cover them. Once the water reaches a boil, remove the pot from the heat and carefully drain the beans through a sieve or colander over the sink (be careful, boiling water means really hot steam!)

3) Pour the beans back in the large pot and repeat step 2 twice more. Once the water is brought to a boil for the third time, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, add 1 tsp of baking soda, and let the beans cook for 1 hour or until one can be easily smushed between your fingers.

4) Drain and rinse the beans once more and then place them in a coarse sieve above a large bowl. Use a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to pass the beans through the mesh and separate out the skins. (This is probably the most arduous part of the recipe but it really does yield a quality product.)

5) Next, use cheesecloth to really squeeze as much of the remaining liquid from the bean paste as you can.

6) Weigh the mostly dry mass of bean paste to determine how much sugar you should add in the next step; the ratio will be 2 parts bean paste to 1 part sugar. For example, if you have 300g of bean paste you'll be adding 150g of sugar to it.

7) Place the bean paste along with the appropriate amount of sugar in a small pot over low heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in a pinch of salt and remove from the heat.

Next, we can take our freshly made Koshian (or canned red beans) and create the Yokan itself!

++ Mizu Yokan ++

ITEMS

Water                                                 500 g + 2 TBSP

Agar                                                   1 3/4 tsp (~4 g)

Koshian (or canned red beans)          300 g

Sugar                                                 200 g

Cornstarch                                         2 tsp

Salt                                                     pinch (to taste)

EQUIP

Medium pot

Whisk

Medium mixing bowl

Baking pan for molding (I used a 9x9 square cake pan)

Parchment paper

WALKTHROUGH

1) Pour 500g of water into a medium sized pot over high heat. Once warm, whisk in the powdered agar until it's dissolved and then stir in the sugar.

2) Add the Koshian to the water and mix thoroughly. Bring this mixture to a boil and then remove it from the heat.

3) In a separate mixing bowl combine the corn starch and 3 TBSP of water. Once dissolved, add a spoonful or two of the Koshian mixture and stir to combine. Add this mixture back into the original pot over medium heat and bring to a boil stirring constantly.

4) Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes before removing it from the heat. This ensures that any unpleasant flavor of the corn starch is cooked out. Stir in a pinch of salt and set aside.

5) While the Yokan mixture begins to cool, we can line our mold with parchment paper.

6) After about 10 minutes or cooling in the pot, pour the Yokan mixture into the lined mold and place in the refrigerator to set up.  Use a toothpick or small knife to pop any large bubbles that appear on the surface.

7) Once cool and set , the yokan can be un-molded and cut into any shape you like. I cut rectangles like they appear in game, but any shape would work really. I've even seen some nice yokan cut out with cookie cutters! Great job! And Happy Halloween!

spooky...