どらやき

So after I got home I wanted to make some of that bean past I had grown so fond of. The paste itself is called anko, and simply consists of beans, sugar and a lot of labor. The buns are like a sweet pancake, only a little more firm. My bun recipe was OK, but it needs some work. What I really need is one of those handy dandy things to make the spiffy round bun thing...I have no idea what I am talking about...

For the anko, I didn't have the azuki beans to make the red version, but I did have lima beans to make the white version. After about four hours of boiling, draining, reboiling, simmering, straining, mashing, then mashing again and adding the sugar and re-simmering I had my creamy smooth white anko. Well, I actually had 2 different versions; a smooth creamy version (like marzipan) and a chunky version. I preferred the creamy version even though it took about a half-hour longer to process than the chunky. It just tasted so much better! But...4.5 hours for a little tub of anko? I think I might just buy it next time. Sanae said you can get it at the 100 yen store (the $1 store). So much for my eight hours of work...at least I learned something :)

Pic time:
My mini dorayaki with the white anko.














White anko (creamy on the left and chunky on the right)