Sweet Red Bean Paste Recipe

With this simple recipe, you can make sweet red bean paste, a staple in chinese cuisine. Made from adzuki beans, red bean paste is used in chinese dishes served for the new year and other festivities. Foods served during this time of year, such as sesame seed balls and sweet bean paste pancakes, contain the paste. Sticky rice cakes, sweet rice pudding, and dumplings are other new year foods made with red bean paste. Such dishes are said to help one start the new year with luck, good health and prosperity alike. Once you learn to make the paste from scratch, it will be that much easier to make the foods filled with the condiment. In fact, you can make a large batch of the paste to reserve as filing for a variety of dishes at the same time. So, why is red bean paste associated with the new year? The color red symbolizes luck in china. You'll find that even many chinese americans paint the doors on their homes red for precisely the same reason. Fortunately, red bean paste isn't just thought to bring good luck to you; it's also good for you Because the paste is made from beans, it is chock full of iron, magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals essential to health.