Red Bean Paste

I ran across this while looking up how to make moon cakes - one of my favorite Chinese traditional desserts - from the site China Sichuan Food. I had to read quite a bit between the lines on some instructions, and making it the first time was definitely an experiment, but it was all worth it. Not only do I get to tailor exactly how sweet my red bean fillings should be (the original recipe called for 2 cups - way too much for my taste!) but the leftover red bean "soup" can then be lightly sweetened and drunk as a separate dessert soup. Win-win!

• 8 oz dried red beans
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp butter, lard, or vegetable oil
• pinch of salt
• (optional) 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Wash the red beans and soak in water for at least 8 hours.
2. Rinse, then boil them with fresh water (make sure the water level remains above the beans) in a pot or a high-pressure cooker until they are soft (about 1.5 hours for a pot, 40 minutes for a high-pressure cooker).
3. Pour out the water and reserve for a red bean dessert soup. Set the beans aside to cool (or if you want to speed things along, put the pot in an ice bath). Once the beans have cooled, you can optionally filter out the skins if you wish by pushing the beans through a sieve. Blend everything in a food processor.
4. Transfer the resulting paste to a saucepan and add the sugar, butter, and salt. Cook at a simmer while continuously stirring the paste, until any excess water has been cooked off. Let the paste cool before using.

Note: The original recipe called for 2 tbsp of fat/oil, but I found the resultant paste too soft to use easily for a mooncake recipe. However, if you wish for a softer consistency, such as in a red bean bun, then you should use the original 2 tbsp.