An, anko, azukian, sweet paste mostly made from red beans 餡こ、餡子、小豆餡
A paste (mostly) made of red beans (also called "azuki beans"). The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or grinding them, and kneading them into a paste. The paste can be sweetened with sugar or left as it is. The color of the paste is usually dark red, which comes from the husk of the beans. The skins of the beans can be removed by sieving, resulting in a smoother and more homogeneous paste.
Red bean paste is distinguished according to its consistency, sweetness, and color. The most common types are Koshian and Tsubuan. Here is a complete list::
- Tsubuan (粒餡): Whole red beans are boiled with sugar but otherwise untreated
- Tsubushian (潰し餡): The beans are mashed after boiling
- Koshian (漉し餡): The beans are passed through a sieve to remove bean skins. This is the most common type
- Sarashian (晒し餡): The beans are dried and reconstituted with water
- Ogura-an (小倉餡): A mix of koshian and tsubuan.
[An]
Strictly speaking, the term an can refer to almost any sweet, edible, mashed paste, although without qualifiers red beans are assumed, while azukian refers specifically to the paste made with red beans. Other common forms of an include shiroan (白餡, "white bean paste"), made from white kidney beans, and kurian (栗餡), made from chestnuts (kuri). Other ingredients can be potatoes, sweet potatoes and lily roots.
An is the basis of all kinds of fresh confectionery (namagashi) that go well with green tea. It is also used in a sweet hot soup with mochi rice cakes called shiruko or zenzai. Also popular are anpan, sandwiches with a filling of an.
[Yokan]
Here is a complete list:
- Anmitsu, a dessert consisting of red bean paste, small cubes of agar jelly, and pieces of fruit served with syrup.
- Anpan, a sweet bun filled with red bean paste.
- Daifuku, a confection consisting of a small round rice cake stuffed with red bean paste.
- Dorayaki, a confection consisting of two small pancake-like patties made from castella wrapped around a filling of red bean paste.
- Manju, a steamed cake filled with red bean paste.
- Oshiruko or Zenzai, adzuki bean soup, commonly served with rice cake.
- Sakuramochi, a Japanese sweet consisting of sweet pink-colored rice cake (mochi) with a red bean paste (anko) center, and wrapped in a pickled cherry blossom (sakura) leaf.
- Taiyaki, a fish-shaped cake stuffed with red bean paste.
- Yokan, a thick jellied dessert made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons
Japanese Food Dictionary