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Adzuki Beans
 Adzuki Beans
© Denzil Green
It is about 4 months from planting to harvest of the beans for drying.
When its bean pods are very young, they can be harvested for use as you would snow peas or green beans. They won't really have any beans in them at this point.
The pods grow up to 5 inches (12 1/2 cm) long, are only about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick, and mature from green and yellowish to brown. When fully mature, the pods will split open if allowed to dry out too much before harvesting. They don't all mature at the same time.
The beans inside the pods are small, only about 5 mm wide, but still 2 to 3 times larger than mung beans. They are roundish with a point at one end.
Adzuki Beans have skin which is dark red-reddish brown, with a white ridge on the side.
Adzuki Beans are the second most important bean in Japan after soy.
Varieties that grow erect are grown in Japan, while trailing varieties are grown in China and in more southerly parts of Asia.
Varieties include Takara, Minoka, Hikari, Erimo, Dainagon and Bloodwood.
Not all varieties are red; in fact some are white,
Adzuki Beans are used widely in Japanese cooking. The Japanese consider a redder colour more desirable than a maroon or darker red colour. Nearly all Adzuki Beans in Japan are grown on Hokkaido island, and most of Adzuki grown there are of the Erimo variety.
Adzuki Beans have more sugar than most beans, so they are also used in desserts and sweets -- 80% of all Adzuki Beans grown in Japan are used for the Japanese sweets called "wagashi", and in desserts such as Yokan.
Cooking Tips
To pressure cook; per 1/2 cup of unsoaked dried beans use 2 cups of water, and cook under pressure for 15 to 20 minutes. If the beans are soaked overnight first, cook for 5 to 10 minutes.
To cook in a pot, simmer unsoaked beans for about 60 minutes; soaked beans for 40 minutes.
Some people who soak them first say that an hour of soaking is all they need.
When cooked with rice, Adzuki Beans will make the rice pink.
Nutrition
Per 1 cup (250 g), cooked in water, unseasoned: 300 calories, 17 g protein, 60 g carbohydrate, .2 g fat. 17 g fiber, 4.5 mg iron.
25% protein when ripe.
Equivalents
16 oz. dry = 3 cups cooked
1 cup cooked = 250 g / 8 oz in weight
History
Adzuki Beans are a bean a cultivar created by man; they are not found in the wild. They were probably developed in China. They were introduced into Japan around 1000 AD.
The Bloodwood variety was developed from the Hikari variety by the New South Wales Department of Agriculture in Australia in the 1970s, and released in 1980.
Language Notes
"Adzuki" means "little" bean.
Also called:  Aduki Bean
Asuki Bean
Azuki Bean
Feijao Bean
Field Pea
Red Chori
Red Oriental Bean
Tiensin Red Bean Haricots d'Adzuki (French) Azuki-Bohnen (German) Azuki (Italian)
See Also
Dainagon Beans
Other entries for Beans
Adzuki Beans, Anasazi Beans, Apache Beans, Appaloosa Beans, Aramis Beans, Aunt Emma's Beans, Baccicia Beans, Baked Beans, Bayo Beans (Louisiana), Black Beans, Black Nightfall Beans, Bleu du Lac St-Jean Beans, Broad Beans, Brown Rice Beans, Bush Beans, Canary Beans, Chana Dal, Chickashaw Beans, Chickpeas, Chinese Long Bean, Cow-Itch Beans, Cowpeas, Cranberry Beans, Crochu de Savoie Beans, Dainagon Beans, Dolico Veneto Beans, Dragon Tongue Beans, Dry Beans, European Soldier Beans, Falcon Rice Beans, Flageolet Beans, Flor de Junio Beans, Flor de Mayo Beans, Fortin Family Beans, Fradinho Beans, French Fillet Beans, Garboncito Beans, Garrofo Beans, Good Mother Stallard Beans, Great Northern Beans, Green Beans, Green Flageolet Beans, Green Rice Beans, Hopi Black Pinto Beans, Jackson Wonder Beans, Kahnawake Mohawk Beans, Kunde Beans, Lablab Beans, Lima Beans, Lupini Beans, Madeira Beans, Magpie Beans, Mexican Bayo Beans, Moth Beans, Mung Beans, Navy Beans, Nodak Beans, Pebble Beans, Peruano Beans, Pigeon Peas, Pink Beans, Pinto Beans, Pole Beans, Rattlesnake Beans, Red Ball Beans, Red Kidney Beans, Red Nightfall Beans, Refugee Beans, Rice Beans (Asian), Rice Beans, Rio Zappe Beans, Romano Beans, Runner Beans, Sangre de Toros Beans, Sator Beans, Seluga Beans, Shelling Beans, Soybeans, Tarahumara Canario Beans, Tepary Beans, Tiger's Eye Beans, Tolosana Beans, Toscanelli Beans, Trout Beans, Tweed Wonder Beans, Vallarta Beans, Wax Beans, Wild Goose Beans, Winged Beans, Witkiem Beans, Zolfino Pratomagno Beans
Other entries for Legumes
Lentils, Peas
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