Adzuki Bean Paste (Red Bean Paste)

Stovetop Method

1. Add soaked adzuki beans to a pot, along with 4 cups of cold water. Cover with a heavy lid and turn the heat to medium high.
2. Once the water starts to simmer, turn heat down to medium low. Cook until beans are soft and falling apart, around one hour (longer if beans are old or if you did not soak them overnight).
3. Drain the beans in a colander. Return the drained beans to the pot and mash (for coarse bean paste, tsubuan) or blend (for fine bean paste, koshian).

Instant Pot Method

1. Add unsoaked beans to an Instant Pot along with 2 cups of cold water.
2. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and select the Beans/Chili setting. Press the button to turn it to Less mode (25 minutes on high pressure). Once the Instant Pot beeps and turns off, let the pressure naturally release.
3. Open the lid. No need to drain the beans. Most of the water has been absorbed by the beans. Mash the remaining liquid right into the beans. This is called tsubuan (coarse bean paste).
4. Use a blender to blend it into a super smooth paste. This is called koshian (fine bean paste). For a super smooth paste, rub the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer like this one.