PROJECT Adzuki: Sweet & Savory

Nov 11, 2022 | Kitchen PROJECTS, Year-Round

PROJECT Adzuki: Sweet & Savory

The adzuki bean 小豆 plays a prominent role in Japanese cookery, especially in the making of sweets… though savory dishes also abound. This Kitchen PROJECT is about  exploring the many possibilities.

I provide one sweet recipe for TSUBU AN (chunky red bean jam) and one savory recipe for SEKIHAN (festive red rice and beans) to get you started. Further suggestions below in the captions to the images.

Hope you’ll try making one or more dishes with ADZUKI beans.

The SWEET SIDE of ADZUKI

Pictured above from top left, clockwise: DORA YAKI pancakes with tsubu an filling. GRIDDLE CAKES topped with tsubu an and ice cream (kuro mitsu black sugar syrup in the small pitcher), tsubu an topping for SOFT SERVE ice cream, OGURA TOAST, a specialty of Nagoya where thick white bread is toasted and slathered with tsubu an and topped with a pat of butter.

The SAVORY SIDE of ADZUKI

Pictured above from top left, clockwise: SEKIHAN festive red rice with adzuki beans. ITOKO NI kabocha simmered with adzuki beans (recipe pg. 206 WASHOKU), KOROKKE kabocha croquettes with adzuki beans (recipe pg. 118 KANSHA), ADZUKI SALAD with tomatoes and scallions.

Head to the Kitchen Culture page for more about adzuki beans.

My November 2022 NEWSLETTER is about Shichi Go San
celebration of children (girls aged 3 and 7; boys aged 5).

Cutting Board

Cutting Board

Oct 20, 2026

The unassuming cutting board – a dedicated surface on which to slice and chop food – is an ancient tool. Natural materials such as stone and wood offered smooth, stable surfaces on which to prepare food. In the modern kitchen synthetic materials such as silicone and...

PROJECT Fig

PROJECT Fig

Sep 20, 2026

Figs can be enjoyed in many ways, savory and sweet. This project offers two recipes, each a classic approach to fruit in the Japanese kitchen: Kanro Ni, poached in a sugar syrup Shira Ae, napped with a creamy tofu sauce. Download a recipe for Figs in Creamy Tofu...

Figs

Figs

Sep 20, 2026

Figs are one of the world’s oldest cultivated fruits. Images of figs appear in ancient Egyptian murals and are frequently mentioned in the Old Testament and the Qur'an (or Koran, the central religious text of Islam). Figs were known to be an important source of daily...

PROJECT Kanten

PROJECT Kanten

Aug 23, 2026

This project is about cooking with KANTEN, a shelf-stable foodstuff with remarkable gelling properties. It is used to make a wide variety of sweet jellies and savory aspics. Kanten is sold as sticks (they look a  bit like brittle cellophane or styrofoam) and in...

Recent Posts & Projects