Adzuki Bean Porridge (Zensai) Recipe
Adapted from EN Japanese Brasserie
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Total Time:
1 hr 30 mins
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Active Time:
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Makes:
4 servings
Zensai is a very sweet bean-and-mochi dish resembling porridge that is served as part of the Japanese New Year’s celebration. EN Japanese Brasserie in New York includes this version on its New Year’s menu.
What to buy: Adzuki are small, sweet red beans that can be found at Asian markets.
This dish was featured as part of our New Year’s, Japanese Style recipes.
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup dried adzuki beans
- 1 2/3 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 Basic Savory Mochi, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place beans in a medium pot, cover with cold water by about 2 inches, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until beans are cooked through, about 55 to 60 minutes. (Beans are done once they mash easily when pressed between your fingers.)
- Drain beans through a fine mesh strainer and rinse out the pot. Return the pot to the stove and add cooked beans, water, sugar, and salt and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until cooking liquid has thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in mochi, heat through, and serve.
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Aduki is pedantic. Azuki is phonetic.
Is there enough sugar in this recipe? I have to put a lot in there to really thicken the beans. Also, I put the mochi and beans together in the bowl, not the pot, so they don't mix flavors too much.
onocoffee, adzuki and azuki can be used interchangeably. They may also go by adsuki and aduki, but are still the same bean.
People in Japan use grilled 'kirimochi' for Zenzai. I've never seen this 'Basic Savory Mochi'. It looks like Udon to me...
Um, isn't it "AZUKI" and not "aDzuki" beans?
Precisely speaking, this is Zenzai, not Zensai. Zensai means hors d'oeuvre in Japanese. Zenzai is not particularly for New Year's celebration but people eat a lot of mochi during the New Year's holidays. If mochi gets hard, broil it a little before putting in Zenzai.