Sekihan
SKU:
Sekihan, aka Japanese rice and beans, is party food, eaten at New Year’s, graduations, baby luau, and really at almost any excuse to eat together.
Slightly sweet, sticky mochi rice with azuki beans, a touch of salt, and a bit of crunch from the sesame seeds.
5 ingredients mean an easy, happy side dish.
PSA: Requires a rice cooker, ideally with a sweet rice setting.
Slightly sweet, sticky mochi rice with azuki beans, a touch of salt, and a bit of crunch from the sesame seeds.
5 ingredients mean an easy, happy side dish.
PSA: Requires a rice cooker, ideally with a sweet rice setting.
Ingredients
3 cups (rice measuring cup) sweet rice
A little bit less than ¼ cup of dried azuki beans
This works out to about ⅓ of a 7-ounce bag of azuki beans.
Water
Dash of salt
Black sesame seeds for garnish
A little bit less than ¼ cup of dried azuki beans
This works out to about ⅓ of a 7-ounce bag of azuki beans.
Water
Dash of salt
Black sesame seeds for garnish
What To Do
Measure and rinse rice in the rice pot container.
Rinse the azuki beans and drain. Put rinsed dried beans into a pot that will hold at last 7 cups of water (to be safe). Add 2 cups of water and boil for 2 minutes. Add 3 more cups of water and boil for 20 more minutes or until the beans are soft enough to break by squeezing them with your fingers.
Drain the beans using a colander and reserve the hot azuki water.
Add the azuki water to the rice cooker up the the 3-cup line. Using azuki water instead of tap will color the mochi rice. Give it a stir, and then add the cooked azuki beans on top.
Use the sweet rice setting on your rice cooker, press the button and let it go.
When the rice cooker pings, let is sit for about 10 minutes. Open the rice cooker, and voila, sekihan. Gently transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and black sesame seeds.
Rinse the azuki beans and drain. Put rinsed dried beans into a pot that will hold at last 7 cups of water (to be safe). Add 2 cups of water and boil for 2 minutes. Add 3 more cups of water and boil for 20 more minutes or until the beans are soft enough to break by squeezing them with your fingers.
Drain the beans using a colander and reserve the hot azuki water.
Add the azuki water to the rice cooker up the the 3-cup line. Using azuki water instead of tap will color the mochi rice. Give it a stir, and then add the cooked azuki beans on top.
Use the sweet rice setting on your rice cooker, press the button and let it go.
When the rice cooker pings, let is sit for about 10 minutes. Open the rice cooker, and voila, sekihan. Gently transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and black sesame seeds.
Notes and Talking Story
- Sekihan (seh-key-hahn) Literally means red rice 赤飯. This is eaten during New Year’s for sure, as well as other above-noted special occasions.
- Sekihan musubi is another handy-dandy to serve and eat them. Remember to keep them rounded triangles, no circular musubi please.
- Azuki beans and kidney beans are not the same thing.
- Do not substitute dry or canned kidney beans for azuki beans.
