Red Bean Soup (Hong Dou Tang)
Prep time: 5 minutes (plus overnight soaking)
Cook time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Country of Origin
China (Guangdong / Southern Style)
Description
A comforting, dark crimson dessert soup made from slow-simmered adzuki beans. It is cooked until the beans burst to form a naturally thick, sandy broth sweetened with rock sugar and perfumed with the deep, earthy citrus aroma of aged dried tangerine peel.
Presentation & How It's Eaten
Served warm or chilled at the very end of a traditional Cantonese banquet meal in small porcelain bowls.
Ingredients
150g dried red adzuki beans
1 small piece of dried Chinese tangerine peel (Chenpi, about 2-inch wide)
80g yellow rock sugar (or to taste)
5 cups water
Step-by-Step Directions
Soak Beans: Wash the red beans thoroughly and soak them in cold water overnight (at least 8 hours). Drain before cooking.
Hydrate Peel: Soak the dried tangerine peel in warm water for 15 minutes until soft. Use a small spoon to gently scrape away the bitter white pith from the underside of the skin. Squeeze dry.
Boil: Bring 5 cups of fresh water to a rolling boil in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add the soaked red beans and the cleaned tangerine peel.
Simmer: Lower the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and let it simmer for 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. Check occasionally to ensure the water level doesn't drop too low; the beans should become completely tender and split open.
Mash for Texture: Use a wooden spoon to smash a small portion of the beans against the side of the pot to release their starches, thickening the soup into a creamy, sandy texture.
Sweeten: Slide the rock sugar into the pot. Stir continuously on low heat for another 10 minutes until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove the tangerine peel before serving if desired.
Cooking Tips
Scrape the Pith: Always scrape the inner white fuzzy pith off the hydrated tangerine peel. If left on, it releases a sharp, unpleasant bitterness into the dessert that masks the fragrant citrus oils of the skin.
Nutrition Facts
(Estimated per serving)
Calories: ~190 kcal
Total Fat: 0.2g
Saturated Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 5mg
Total Carbohydrates: 42g
Dietary Fiber: 5g
Protein: 6g
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