The Japanese Azuki red beans (also referred to as Adzuki breans), literally transliterated as ‘small beans’ are the smaller cousins of the larger soy beans. They are popularly used in Asian and Chinese cuisines to cook desserts and sweet soups such as the more common red bean soup and sweet soup with red bean balls. The Japanese have lots of snacks and sweets that make use of Azuki red bean pastes, such as our favourite daifuku, anpan and dorayaki. Though a tad too sweet for my almost middle-aged tastebuds, they never fail to look tempting and captivating everytime I pass by these sweets at the Japanese supermarkets.

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