Preparation

• Soak the red beans in water for 8-10 hours.
• Drain the red beans and put them in a pot together with new water (around 750-800ml). Boil the beans with low heat for 1 hour. The cooked beans should be easy to mash with the tips of your figers.
• Separate the cooked red beans from the water remaining. But do not throw the water yet! It could be used as lubricant when we blend the beans in the following step. Or you could even drink it as a healthy drink.
• Keep 1/3 portion of the beans and put 2/3 of them into a blender to make it into purè (note 1). In case you don't have a blender, consider using a spatula to mash the beans through a sieve.
• Heat up a pan with 30g butter. Put all the red beans (both the 1/3 un-blended and the puree) and stir-fry them on low heat. Keep stirring in order to avoid them from getting burnt.
• When the butter is all absorbed, add 15g brown sugar and continue to stir. When the sugar is absorbed, add the rest portion. Keep stirring until all sugar is absorbed. (note 2, 3).
• Add in the honey and stir until it is absorbed. The honey helps to make the final result sticky, and gives a shiny color to the paste.
• At this point your red bean paste is almost done. You could taste to see if it is sweet enough. Adding more sugar if preferred.
• Turn off the fire and add 1 tsp salt into the paste. Mix it well. The salt is a magic ingredient. It adds a hint of salty flavor, at the same time brings the final taste up to another level!