Red Bean Soup
红豆沙
A soothing, naturally sweet Cantonese dessert soup of slow-cooked adzuki beans with dried tangerine peel. Healthy comfort in a bowl.
📋 Ingredients
What Is Red Bean Soup?
💡 Ingredient Notes: Red Bean Soup (红豆沙, hóng dòu shā) is a classic Cantonese dessert soup — adzuki beans slow-cooked with dried tangerine peel until they break down into a silky, naturally sweet soup. The tangerine peel adds a distinctive citrusy aroma that makes this more than just 'sweet beans.' Often served warm in winter or chilled in summer, sometimes with small glutinous rice balls (tangyuan) floating in it for textural contrast. Unlike Western desserts, Chinese dessert soups are subtly sweet — they satisfy without being cloying.
Ingredients You'll Need
The Soup
- 1 cup dried adzuki beans (红豆), soaked overnight
- 8 cups water
- 1 piece dried tangerine peel (陈皮) — about 5cm, or zest of ½ orange
- ½ cup rock sugar (or to taste)
- Pinch of salt
Optional Add-ins
- 1 cup cooked small glutinous rice balls (小汤圆)
- 2 tbsp dried lotus seeds, soaked
- 2 tbsp sago or tapioca pearls (cooked separately)
- Coconut milk (drizzle, for serving)
📝 Instructions
Soak the beans
Soak the adzuki beans in plenty of water overnight (8+ hours). This ensures even cooking. Drain and rinse before using.
Cook the beans
Combine the soaked beans, water, and dried tangerine peel in a heavy pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook covered for 60-75 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beans are completely soft and starting to break down.
Sweeten and season
Add rock sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir until dissolved. The salt enhances the sweetness and balances the beans' earthiness. Simmer for another 10 minutes.
Adjust texture
For a smooth soup: use an immersion blender to puree partially or fully. For a chunkier soup: mash some beans against the side with a spoon. Authentic Cantonese style is somewhere in between — some beans whole, some mashed, slightly thickened.
Add extras and serve
If using glutinous rice balls, add cooked ones to each bowl. Ladle the hot soup over them. Optional: drizzle with coconut milk. Serve warm in winter, or chill for a refreshing summer dessert.
💡 Pro Tips
- 💡💡 Dried tangerine peel (陈皮) is essential. It gives the soup its signature aroma and complexity. Find it at Asian markets. If unavailable, fresh orange zest is a rough substitute.
- 💡💡 Soak the beans overnight. Skipping this doubles the cooking time and gives uneven results.
- 💡💡 Adjust sweetness gradually. Adzuki beans are naturally slightly sweet. Taste before adding all the sugar — you may want less than you think.
- 💡💡 The salt matters. A pinch of salt transforms the soup from 'flat sweet' to 'complex sweet.' Don't skip it.
📊 Nutrition Facts
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use canned red beans? You can, but the texture is different — canned beans are mushy and the soup won't have the same depth. Dried beans give better results. If using canned, simmer for just 15-20 minutes with the tangerine peel and sugar.
Is this dessert or savory? It's dessert — a 'sweet soup' (糖水) category in Cantonese cuisine. But it's subtly sweet, not cloying. Chinese sweet soups blur the line between dessert and light meal.
What is dried tangerine peel (陈皮)? Aged tangerine peel, used as an aromatic in Chinese cooking. The aging process (sometimes years) deepens the flavor — it's complex, slightly bitter, intensely citrusy. A small piece transforms a dish.
