Beans by the Seat of My Pants - Steamed Red Bean Buns
Go ahead and snicker at the vague vulgarity of this post's title, but you'll see that given the circumstances, I am talking anything but unappetizing hot air.
As an experienced baker, I'd lost my fear of working with live yeast some years ago. Even so, breaking in my Chinese bamboo steamer, still sitting in its shipping box after several months, was probably not the wisest decision to make at this time. But after weeks of lazing off the lazies and topping out with bacchanalian holiday fare, the appeal of snapping open the shrink-wrapped, glossy skin of a puffy steamed bun hiding a creamy-soft nugget of cloying red bean paste was just the kind of plain and simple comfort I was craving. Besides, I was tired of picking them up from the restaurant in town which prepares the best buns, but doesn't offer the quickest home delivery.
How hard could it really be to make them myself? Not hard at all, actually, but so time consuming and multi-stepped? Well, I wasn't anticipating that, particularly since I've made red bean paste from scratch before and found it rather a painless and straightforward process. What I didn't factor in was the irksome possibility that my new purchase of Asian red beans (known as azuki in Japan) would be as old as rock and just as impossible to soften.
Granted, I wasn't expecting the expedited cooking schedule of lentils, which can mush up into sludge right before your eyes; I thought the beans would cook up as they previously had. Though I'd carefully timed the dough against the paste prep, it was the beans that were the beasties and not the yeast at all. While the starter was happily and fragrantly bubbling and expanding like clockwork, the beans would not, after hours of their own bubbling, yield to a quick squish between the fingertips. I was beginning to worry. The dough would soon be ready to be kneaded before its final rising, and I still was nowhere near having anything to fill them with. Yet failure was not on my radar screen, even though the beans were far too lumpy and tough even to be used in another authentic paste recipe, where the skins are left intact.
So I winged it. Rather than fighting to push the bean pulp through a strainer, I extracted as much as I possibly could via the prescribed method, regretfully discarding the bulk of it. That left me with a bowl of sloppy, dull purée, which I transferred to a clean, heavy skillet. And there I stood for close to an hour, constantly stirring the mixture to prevent scorching as it slowly belched into a reduction of the very thick, smooth, ancient red paste it was supposed to be. Things were syncing up nicely, after all; every brainstorm was worth the trouble. There is no aroma quite so heady as that of the freshest yeast wafting in nearly visible layers through the air of your kitchen. Nor is there anything like the sensual pleasure of tearing your teeth into a hot, fleshy pillow of a bun to the buried bean treasure deep within it, no matter how circuitous the route to get there.
Red Bean Paste - My own recipe, elements of which were gleaned from several basics found online, but foolproof no matter what age the beans are
Ingredients
1 cup azuki beans (found in Asian and health food grocers)
4 cups water for soaking
Additional water for cooking
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or shortening for smoother mouth feel (optional)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
Method (The night before)
Pick over beans for possible debris and breakage. Rinse under cold water, then cover generously in a large bowl. Soak beans overnight, at least for eight hours.
Next day, drain the beans and transfer them to a large, heavy saucepan. Cover them with about 4 inches of fresh water. Bring to boil, skim off any foam, and reduce heat to a moderate simmer. Cover saucepan and let cook for up to 3 hours, checking periodically to stir, check for softening and replace water lost through evaporation. Do not let beans dry out or they will burn. Press beans coarsely with a potato masher. If they are very soft, empty them into a large metal strainer to drain the water, then transfer strainer to rest on a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon, press and scrap beans through the strainer to separate the thick pulp from the fibrous skins, making sure to include any pulp caught on underside of strainer. Discard the skins and transfer the pulp to a large, heavy skillet. *Cook on low heat, stirring in the optional oil and shortening, then incrementally adding the sugar. Continue to stir and rub the pulp into a dense paste. The paste is ready when you can easily see the bottom of the skillet when you swipe the spoon through the paste. (If the beans, as in my story, remain tough, collect the drained water from the bean-cooking sauce pan and return it to the saucepan with whatever pulp you can extract through the strainer. Stir this very loose mixture constantly over moderate heat until it begins to evaporate and thicken. Proceed as above*.) Allow the paste to cool before filling the bun dough. Paste can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to a week. Return to room temperature before using.
Steamed Asian Buns - With the exception of substituting bleached cake flour for the all-purpose unbleached flour called for, I followed the recipe from The Fresh Loaf and have not rewritten it here. N.B. - The warm water cited must be luke warm to the touch, 105 - 110 degrees F, neither too cold nor too hot for the yeast to be activated without being destroyed.
Makes one dozen buns. Very best when eaten warm straight from the steamer.
This recipe is for Courtney of Coco Cooks, guest host for April's My Legume Love Affair - Tenth Helping - Starters and Desserts. Though the event officially closes today, Courtney will be accepting latecomers until she posts the round-up this weekend. Recipes prepared after the round-up are to be sent to the attention of Lori Lynn of Taste with the Eyes, hosting MLLA11 for May. Thanks always for your great recipes for My Legume Love Affair.
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