메리동지! Creamy Adzuki Bean Soup

December 22nd is Dongji Day in Korea. Adzuki bean soup (aka Red bean porridge) is a traditional Dongji meal and is said to keep away evil spirits.

I think everyone will enjoy this thick, sweet, comforting soup. The soup can be made either creamy or chunky. I just happen to like it creamy.

Before I start, you might wonder why I'm blogging in English all of a sudden.. I recently watched a TV show called The Kimchi Chronicles and it kinda inspired me to share and promote Korean recipes. Although I come from a Korean background, I've never been a huge fan of Korean cuisine -I find it too salty. But there are some GREAT Korean dishes that I do enjoy. If you want to try new things but is afraid of going too far, you might want to try my recipes. Believe me, I don't like my food too spicy or salty like typical Korean food. Hope you enjoy :)

Ingredients (Serves 3 as a meal)

　　2 cups Adzuki beans, dried
　　3 Tbsp Honey
　　1/2 tsp Salt

Rice balls:
　　1 cup Glutinous rice flour (Try Mochiko flour if you're in the States)
　　1/4 tsp Salt
　　100 ml Hot water

Wash your beans and soak them overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Drain and rinse. Put beans in a large pot and add enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil over high heat. DISCARD the water and rinse beans thoroughly before adding fresh water. Otherwise, it will upset your stomach.

Place beans in a large pot again with 8 cups of water. Cover and boil over a medium heat for 30 minutes. Make sure you have enough water in the pot. Reduce heat and simmer until tender, 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, we're going to make rice balls called Sae-ahl (새알), meaning bird egg.
Mix rice flour and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour about half the hot water and mix. Add the remaining half of the water and beat until combined. Shape dough into small bite size balls by rolling between your palms until smooth. Set aside.

When beans become mushy and soft, remove from heat. Do NOT discard the used water this time.

Use a hand blender to finely purée. If you find the consistency too thick, add some water, but again, this soup is supposed to be thick. Strain the purée through a fine mesh sieve into another pot.

Bring to a boil on high heat while stirring. Skim off any foam that may rise to the top. Lower the heat to simmer and add the rice balls. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring. Season with salt and honey.

I used honey because I don't eat sugar. I know most Koreans put cups of sugar to sweeten this soup. I'd say 2 Tbsp is the minimum amount of sweetner. So start with this and see from there.

You can serve the soup hot or cold. I served hot with radish Kimchi, which I think is a good compliment to the soup.

It was actually my first time making it and my family really enjoyed :D