[FOOD]The Story Behind Our Proudly Made Anko

Believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good health and luck, Azuki beans are one of the essential beans for celebrations in Japan. Of all the beans, Anko=red bean paste, which is slowly simmered with sugar and a little salt, is the most difficult to make because it is just too simple.

It is the core taste of Japan, and there is no such thing as "perfect" when you get right down to it.

Even some of the most famous Japanese confectioners order their anko from anko specialty stores. There are even artisans who travel all over Japan to teach how to make be Anko. According to them, a Japanese confectionery business on the verge of collapse can be revived if the taste of Anko is improved.

©︎EMI SUZUKI

Anko is the ultimate in professionalism.

Is there any perfection to be found in the US?

Last year I finally found a way to make Anko that I am truly satisfied with.

The person who taught me this secret technique was Emi Suzuki, a cook I met when I was working as a lifestyle editor for a magazine in Japan.

Simmering beans at Emi ‘s kitchen.

She is a popular cook who proposes recipes for home cooking in magazines, books, advertisements, etc.

Among her recipes, Anko is a gem!　

Emi's terrific sweet bean paste, made from her grandmother's memories of making sweet bean paste, has fans all over Japan and even the world (and I am one of them).

Last year, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take a personal Anko lesson in her home kitchen. She usually invites students to her cooking classes and workshops, but when I returned to Japan, she prepared for me the best way to cook Anko for おはぎOhagi (rice balls) and お汁粉Oshiruko (sweet red bean soup), as well as freshly steamed 赤飯red rice with red beans.

The beans are boiled, sugar is added and boiled down, and finally a pinch of salt is added.

The process may sound very easy if you just write it down, but it is something that you can learn by making it over and over again, to recognize the changing aroma and thickness as it cooks down, and the best moment to make it.

The things that spill out from between the lines of the process are the lessons of the five senses that support perfection.

The result depends on the pot and the stove, and also on the freshness of the beans, so I leave the beans dancing around in the pot, and keep talking to them as they cook.

©︎Emi Suzuki

In the year 2021, my Anko will be even better than before for sure!

The best and most satisfying Anko in my life.

Anko is often paired with green tea or other Japanese teas, but in fact, it also goes very well with coffee.

We are planning to develop and offer recipes that demonstrate this.

Uji Kintoki as well as coffee jelly and shaved ice with anko will take you on a journey through Japan.