Metric:
200gr Lima Beans
150gr Sugar
( Increase of decrease the amount of sugar based to your liking )
3gr Salt
( Kosher or Sea Salt )
TRADITIONAL JAPANESE RECIPE: White bean paste or Shiroan (白餡, 白あん) is a paste/filling used mainly for sweets, desserts and pastries in Japanese Cuisine. It's the more elegant version of Anko ( Red Bean Paste ) and it has a milder taste, perfect for those people that don't really enjoy the strong Anjo Bean flavour.
White bean paste or Shiroan (白餡, 白あん) is very hard to find in Japan and virtually impossible to find outseide japan, so this White Bean Paste Paste will do the trick. Save it in your freezer and you'll be fine for a few months.
Types of White Beans Used for Shiroan:
- Shiro Ingen Mame (白いんげん豆)
- Shirohana Mame (白花豆)
- Oofuku Mame (大福豆)
- Tebo Mame (手亡豆)
- Kintoki Mame (金時豆)
- Shiro Azuki (白小豆)
For this recipe we've used Butter Beans ( or Navy Beans ), in this case Shirohana Mame (白花豆) from Hokkaido.
In the recipe we've also added some Salt to make the Paste sweeter without adding more Sugar, so the amount of Sugar is ok, but you can change it to your liking.
Skill Level: ![]() |
Time: 8 Hours |
Price: ![]() |
Makes: 1 Container |
Ingredients:
Conversions |
Metric:
200gr Lima Beans
150gr Sugar
( Increase of decrease the amount of sugar based to your liking )
3gr Salt
( Kosher or Sea Salt )
Cups:
1 Bag Lima Beans
0.75 cup Sugar
( Increase of decrease the amount of sugar based to your liking )
0.5 taspoon Salt
( Kosher or Sea Salt )
Directions:
01 - Place the Lima Beans in a large bowl and rinse them under running water.
02 - Once they feel clean, fill up the bowl with water and soak them overnight ( about 10 hours ).
03 - After about 10 hours the Beans should lose the skin very easily. Using your fingers, remove the skin from each one Bean, one by one.
04 - Add the unskinned Beans in a pot.
05 - Pour just enough cold water in the pot to cover the Beans.
06 - Bring it to a Boil on medium heat and let it boil for 2 minutes.
07 - Once foam starts foaming, drain the Water ( using a sieve ), quickly rinse the pot and put the Beans back in the pot. Add cold Water just enough to cover the beans.
08 - Cover with a lid, slightly ajar and let simmer on low heat for about 2 hours or until the Beans turn extremely soft. During this time, remove the foam every time it comes out. Always make sure the amount of water is just enough to cover the beans. When you can easily crash the Beans between your fingrs, they're ready.
09 - Drain the liquid, saving a little bit of cooking liquid for the next step.
10 - Transfer a small portion of drained Beans into a fine-meshed strainer or a flour sifter placed over a large plate ( or inside a food processor to mash the beans ). Push the Beans through the strainer ( using a wooden spatula ) to obtain a fine and smooth Paste. If the White Bean Paste is too dry, put a little bit of cooking liquid.
11 - Put the White Bean Paste in a clean saucepan.
12 - Add Sugar and Salt and mix well to combine.
13 - Turn on the heat to medium low heat and cook until the Sugar has dissolved. At this point the Paste has become a bit more liquid.
14 - Cook to low heat, letting the moisture evaporate from the Paste until it becomes a smooth mold-able paste. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Stir the Paste all the time to make sure it doesn't burn. When you can draw a line on the bottom of the pan, it’s done.
15 - Remove from the heat and put it immediately in a container.
Notes:
- STEP 05: To properly cook the beans, you will use just enough water and don’t let the beans move around in the water.
- You can refrigerate the Paste for a couple of days or divide it into a small portion, using an ice cube container, and freeze it for up to 2-3 months.
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Written by: Uncut Recipes | Disclaimer |
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Christina
![]() November 17, 2019 LOL I've used canned beans the first time. A complete disaster. I've found the right beans the day later and it came out perfect. Love it! |
Susan
![]() November 4, 2019 Thank you. I honestly cannot stand Anko so this is gonna be perfect for my matcha mochi. |
December 8, 2019
Thank you for the recipe. I've just made it and it's delicious. The red bean paste is too strong for me, I like it but this is much better 🙂