I have a ham bone and ham scraps from a very good ham that I baked
yesterday. They are simmering in a big pot of water right now. I want
to make a pot of ham & bean soup, and the only dried beans I have are
adzuki beans, blackeyed peas, and soybeans. The obvious choice is
probably the blackeyed peas, but I don't like them enough to waste such
a good ham bone on them. I *thought* I had a bag of pintos and a bag of
black turtle beans, but I guess I used them up.

Soybeans cooked as a soup are icky.

How about the adzuki beans? I'm not sure why I bought them; I know in
the Far East they are usually either fermented or sweetened to make
desserts. Are they OK for making soup? Do they need to be soaked, or
are they one of the few dried legumes that cooks without soaking (like
lentils)?

They look kind of like red mung beans.

I know I ought to go to the store and buy a bag of pintos or limas or
navy beans, but I'm trying to use up some of the stuff that's been in
the pantry too long.

Best regards,
Bob

"zxcvbob" > wrote in message
...
> I have a ham bone and ham scraps from a very good
ham that I baked
> yesterday. They are simmering in a big pot of
water right now. I want
> to make a pot of ham & bean soup, and the only
dried beans I have are
> adzuki beans, blackeyed peas, and soybeans. The
obvious choice is
> probably the blackeyed peas, but I don't like
them enough to waste such
> a good ham bone on them. I *thought* I had a bag
of pintos and a bag of
> black turtle beans, but I guess I used them up.
>
> Soybeans cooked as a soup are icky.
>
> How about the adzuki beans? I'm not sure why I
bought them; I know in
> the Far East they are usually either fermented or
sweetened to make
> desserts. Are they OK for making soup? Do they
need to be soaked, or
> are they one of the few dried legumes that cooks
without soaking (like
> lentils)?
>
> They look kind of like red mung beans.
>
> I know I ought to go to the store and buy a bag
of pintos or limas or
> navy beans, but I'm trying to use up some of the
stuff that's been in
> the pantry too long.
>
> Best regards,
> Bob

Use the blackeyed peas. And don't forget to put in
a piece of celery.

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:27:42 -0600, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>How about the adzuki beans? I'm not sure why I bought them; I know in
>the Far East they are usually either fermented or sweetened to make
>desserts. Are they OK for making soup? Do they need to be soaked, or
>are they one of the few dried legumes that cooks without soaking (like
>lentils)?

They need to be soaked, but they cook more quickly than a lot of
beans. However, they're a little sweet in flavor, so I don't use them
in soup.

serene

serene wrote:
> On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:27:42 -0600, zxcvbob >
> wrote:
>
>
>>How about the adzuki beans? I'm not sure why I bought them; I know in
>>the Far East they are usually either fermented or sweetened to make
>>desserts. Are they OK for making soup? Do they need to be soaked, or
>>are they one of the few dried legumes that cooks without soaking (like
>>lentils)?
>
>
> They need to be soaked, but they cook more quickly than a lot of
> beans. However, they're a little sweet in flavor, so I don't use them
> in soup.
>
> serene


I soaked a cup of them for a couple of hours in hot water and I have
them cooking right now with some celery, onions, carrots, and ham broth.
I think I used too much broth (too salty) so I'll probably need to add
a diced red potato.

What do you use them for?

Thanks,
Bob

"serene" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 16:27:42 -0600, zxcvbob >
> wrote:
>
>>How about the adzuki beans? I'm not sure why I bought them; I know in
>>the Far East they are usually either fermented or sweetened to make
>>desserts. Are they OK for making soup? Do they need to be soaked, or
>>are they one of the few dried legumes that cooks without soaking (like
>>lentils)?
>
> They need to be soaked, but they cook more quickly than a lot of
> beans. However, they're a little sweet in flavor, so I don't use them
> in soup.
>
> serene

I don't soak the adzuki beans. They will cook in about 30 minutes. They
are firm, but mealy when done. They taste a bit smokey. Measure 1 cup of
water with about 1/3 cup of beans (no salt) bring to boil and simmer for 30
minutes. Make some plain basmati or brown rice, if you wish. Spoon a
little bit of yogurt on top of the beans or make a separate raita (yogurt
with cucumber and some dried cumin). A good cleansing meal.
Dee Dee

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 22:47:06 -0600, zxcvbob >
wrote:

>I soaked a cup of them for a couple of hours in hot water and I have
>them cooking right now with some celery, onions, carrots, and ham broth.
> I think I used too much broth (too salty)

I never use salt in my beans until they're cooked as soft as I want
them, because I find salt makes them take longer to soften, and
sometimes they never do.

> so I'll probably need to add
>a diced red potato.
>
>What do you use them for?

Things that don't mind a little sweet -- curry, bean salads,
sweet-and-sour dishes. They are also used in desserts, and I've had
them several times that way, but I've never tried making anything like
that. If you eat dim sum with a sweet red bean paste in it, that's
probably adzuki.

One of my very favorite ways to have adzuki beans is to toss the
cooked beans with cold leftover rice, whatever veggies I have handy,
and a vinaigrette. Man, that's yummy, and now I want some. :-)

serene

"Kathy" > ha scritto nel messaggio
...
>
> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> ...
>> I have a ham bone and ham scraps from a very good
> ham that I baked
>> yesterday. They are simmering in a big pot of
> water right now. I want
>> to make a pot of ham & bean soup, and the only
> dried beans I have are
>> adzuki beans, blackeyed peas, and soybeans. The
> obvious choice is
>> probably the blackeyed peas, but I don't like
> them enough to waste such
>> a good ham bone on them. I *thought* I had a bag
> of pintos and a bag of
>> black turtle beans, but I guess I used them up.
>>
>> Soybeans cooked as a soup are icky.
>>
>> How about the adzuki beans? I'm not sure why I
> bought them; I know in
>> the Far East they are usually either fermented or
> sweetened to make
>> desserts. Are they OK for making soup? Do they
> need to be soaked, or
>> are they one of the few dried legumes that cooks
> without soaking (like
>> lentils)?ù


I use azuky beans in saladnly seasoned with oil, onions, black peppers and
fresh parsley. They are very small and hard. So I wet them for a night.
I don't think they are good for soup! With ham I would prefer bigger beans
like Borlotti beans or black eye beans.

Cheers
Pandora