Mama's Sweet Red Bean Soup

This is a simple recipe from my mom.

Ingredients?

Red beans
Granulated sugar
Water
Sea salt
Heavy whipping cream or whole milk (if desired)

How?

The quality of the ingredients is crucial since this is such a simple recipe,
This is especially true regarding the choice of red beans.

Try to use organic red beans,
Pick the type that looks "full," or "plumped."
If the beans are not sealed in a bag, smell it first,
Superior red beans come with an elegant sweet fragrance that you can't get from the regular kinds,
Trust me, you'll know when you smell one.

I didn't include the quantity/measurement in the recipe,
It's all up to you,
Some people like it dry; some like it soupy.

Here's how you make this Asian dessert,
First, pick out damaged red beans (broken, chipped, etc),
Rinse under cold water and pick out the ones floating on top of the water,
Afterwards, soak the beans with filtered water for a minimum of 2 hours,
My mom soaked it for 4 hours.

Once the soaking process is done, drain out the water,
Transfer the beans to a pressure cooker,
Pour in more filtered water,
The ratio between the beans and water can be somewhere from 1:3 to 1:5, depending on your preference.

Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of sea salt,
Set the timer to 4 minutes, leave the rest to the pressure cooker.
Once it's done, add in granulated sugar till desired sweetness level.

Some people cook the beans without a pressure cooker,
That's doable, but can take hours to do so.

You can enjoy the red bean soup the way it is,
Some pour 1 to 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream on top of it,
Or you can try what my dad always does,
He prefers thicker red bean soup (almost no more liquid),
He'll scoop the beans in a medium sized bowl and pour whole milk to replace the liquid part,
Be creative and see what you like the most!

Cindy's Rating: 8