KITLIVING
MAKING CARBS COUNT
Recipe overleaf
Sweet and savoury
Versatile adzuki beans are great for
packing in the protein in a veggie soup,
adding texture and flavour to salads and
simply delicious in hearty stews, curries
and casseroles. They are also a great
alternative to mashed potato and even
mashed to make a dip in a similar way
as hummus - perfect as a snack with
crudités.
Many East Asian cultures process
adzuki beans into a red bean paste
(boiled with sugar) and used as a tasty
filling or topping for sweet dishes such as
waffles, pastries, buns and biscuits.
The beans can also be ground into
a gluten-free flour alternative to use in
baking and cooking, available in most
health food shops. However, even
soaked or ready to eat, you can also add
to cake mixtures for deliciously soft - and
nutritious! - brownies and tray bakes.
Be Prepared
There are several ways you can prepare
adzuki beans:
Soak - Dried adzuki beans need to
be soaked and cooked thoroughly before
you can enjoy them:
• Rinse your beans then place in a
bowl and cover with several inches of
water.
• After around eight hours, give them
another rinse. You'll see they've expanded
and ready to cook. Any you don't use,
store in the fridge the next few days
• Add the beans to water, bring to
the boil and simmer until tender (usually
45-60 minutes). Drain and rinse and enjoy
in your dish.
Sprout - Most beans and seeds can
be sprouted, which can help with further
digestion and maximise nutrition. Adzuki
beans are pretty easy to sprout and go
great in soups and salads.
• Soak 1 cup of beans in cool water
for around 8-12 hours then drain, rinse
thoroughly and drain again. (Rinse and
drain with cool water every 8 hours or so).
• Store in a sprouter jar out of direct
sunlight.
• After around two or three days, you
can harvest your crop - when most of the
beans have short roots. You can keep in
the fridge for up to seven days, but rinse
every day to stay fresh.
Ready to eat - For convenience, you
can buy canned adzuki beans, so the
soaking process has already been done
for you - phew! But try to avoid varieties in
water mixed with added salt and sugars.
Sources include: healtline,
bbcgoodfood, alldayidreamaboutfood,
iamtarrydonaldson and countryfile.
128 calories; 7.5g of protein (16%); 25g
of carbs and 7.3g fibre (28%) Iron 11%
and Magnesium 13%.
NUTRITION
Per 100g cooked
red adzuki beans
All percentages shown in the nutritional
columns are the % of Recommended Daily
Amount (RDA) contained in a 100ml serving.