All About Adzuki Beans & Their Health Benefits

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I’ve been eating adzuki beans for years but many people have never heard of them so let’s learn all about adzuki beans today.

Adzuki beans, also known as aduki beans, have been used in Japenese and Chinese cooking for years but initially originated from China. In fact this may sound strange but they use adzuki beans in ice cream. Actually, this may be a smart move since adzuki beans offer a good source of protein and that would make your ice cream a little more nutritional!

Adzuki beans have a slightly sweet flavour, which makes them perfect for using in desserts but they can also be used equally as well in all savoury dishes. I just cooked a delicious adzuki chilli bean recipe the other day and I’ll be sharing that in a few days so keep your eyes open for that

In Chinese traditional medicine adzuki beans are said to be a warming food that helps support kidney, bladder, and reproductive function. Out of the many beans and legumes available, adzuki beans are one of the easiest to digest. They also make a great source of protein for vegetarians and vegans.

Nutrients in Adzuki Beans

Adzuki beans have 294 calories per serving equivalent to one cup. Like all beans they are quite high in carbohydrates as well at 57g per serving. The great thing about beans is they offer us loads of dietary fibre, packing 17g of fibre and 17g of protein per serve. Adzuki beans are full of valuable micronutrients being particular high in calcium, which makes them great for vegans. See the micronutrient charts below

Source

Tinned Or Dry Adzuki Beans?

You can buy adzuki beans already cooked for you and in the tin. This is a good option for lazy cooks but you need to be aware that most tinned beans have a high salt content and may sometimes contain additional additives.

I personally prefer the dried adzuki beans. They are far better value for money and are actually quite easy to prepare. You can also cook up a large batch and freeze them in snap lock bags for up to six months. I do this with lots of things and just grab out a bag and defrost it as needed, so there’s a little time sacving kitchen tip for you

How To Prepare Dry Adzuki Beans?

For best results, all dried beans or legumes have to be soaked first. Simply cover your beans with double the amount of water an leave overnight.

I put them in a saucepan and leave them overnight and sometimes the entire next day. Then pour the beans into a strainer and rinse thoroughly. You want to remove the water they’ve been soaking in.

I use a pressure cooker and cover the adzuki beans with double the water and cook for 20-30 minutes depending on the softness I desire. For soft beans cook for longer. You can also cook them in a regular pan but it will take about 1 hour. If you are going to freeze them, go for the shorter timeframe because once they are defrosted and cooked in another dish, they will definitely be cooked enough.

After cooking, drain the beans again before using in your cooking or for storage.

Use the aduki beans in salads, for use in desserts like a rice and adzuki pudding, or make up a adzuki bean chilli.

So I hope you’ve learned a thing or two about adzuki beans and go give them a try, they are definitely one of my favourite beans to use.

Jedha

Nutrition & Health Coach

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