What adzuki beans means
Adzuki beans are small, oval, reddish-brown beans with a thin white ridge along one side. They have a mild, slightly sweet and nutty flavour and turn soft and creamy when cooked, which makes them ideal for sweet dishes. They are especially important in Japanese, Chinese and Korean cooking, where they are best known as the main ingredient of sweet red bean paste.
The beans are simmered until tender, then mashed or pushed through a sieve with sugar to make a paste that can be chunky or completely smooth. In Japan this paste is called anko, and it fills mochi, buns, pancakes and many traditional sweets. Adzuki beans are also used in soups, both sweet and savoury, in ice cream and drinks, and in red rice dishes cooked for celebrations.
Outside East Asia they are added to stews, salads and rice dishes in the same way as other pulses. The name is spelled in several ways, including azuki and aduki, and they are sometimes simply called red beans, which can cause confusion with red kidney beans. Adzuki beans are sold dried in larger supermarkets, Asian grocers and health food shops, and are also available cooked in tins and as ready-made paste.