Red bean soup is a popular Asian / Chinese dessert. It also called hong dou tang (紅豆湯) in Chinese. This sweet red bean soup recipe uses an instant pot pressure cooker. And, it does not require pre-soaking adzuki beans. You can also use this sweet red bean recipe or red bean paste recipe to make red bean mochi, red bean sticky rice cake and red bean ice drink. Hope you enjoy this red bean soup instant pot recipe!
Love Asian dessert? Check out these sweet green mung bean soup, taro sago dessert, Asian shaved ice, almond jello, black glutinous rice dessert, and black sesame soup recipes.
What is sweet red bean soup?
Red bean soup is a popular Chinese dessert mostly in China, Taiwan, and southeast Asia. In Chinese, it also called hong dou tang (紅豆湯). It categorized as dessert, tang shui (糖水) like sweet mung bean soup and taro sago. And, it literally translates as sugar water or sweet soup. Normally, red bean soup is served cold during summer, and hot in winter. Often, it is served as a dessert at the end of a Chinese restaurant meal or banquet.
What are the ingredients in sweet red bean soup?
Traditionally, in Cantonese cuisine hong dou tang is made from rock sugar, water, red beans and dried mandarin peels. Red beans are also called adzuki beans. It's a kind of mung bean in red color.
Most of the time people like to use rock sugar or sliced brown sugar to make sweet soup. However, you can use brown sugar and it tastes great as well.
Why use an instant pot to sweet red bean soup?
This recipe uses an instant pot pressure cooker to make it. Therefore, it's faster than traditional top stove cooking methods and does not require pre-soaking the beans. Not only is it easier to make sweet red bean soup using an instant pot pressure cooker, but also the beans are soft. Hope you enjoy this sweet adzuki bean soup instant pot recipe.
Cooking tips for how to make hong dou tang (紅豆湯):
- Wash and rinse adzuki beans (red beans) and dried mandarin peels
- Put adzuki beans, dried mandarin peel and water into pressure cooker manual for 45 minutes at high pressure
- After that quickly release the pressure, open the lid add ¾ cup of rock sugar or brown sugar (add sweet to your taste)
- Sauté for 30-40 mins until it thickens. Remember to stir it once a while to prevent the bottom from burning. (It depends what viscosity you want. The longer it takes for sauté, the thicker it becomes.)
FAQs:
Average can be stored in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. Also, you can make red bean ice drink or freeze them to make ice pops. This is one of my favorite Chinese popsicles and I enjoy it a lot.
Normally, it takes 2-4 hours to soak the beans if you use a top stove or slow cooker method. However, it doesn't require soaking adzuki beans before cooking in a pressure cooker instant pot.
Instructions on how to make instant pot red bean soup:
1. Wash or rinse a cup of red beans then put it in the instant pot, pressure cooker.
2. Next, add 2 small pieces of dried mandarin peels.
3. After that, pour 6 cups of water. Close the lid and vent. Then, push the manual button and adjust time for 45 minutes at high pressure.
4. The following, quickly release the pressure and open the lid. Then, add ¾ cup of rock sugar or brown sugar (add sweet to your taste) and sauté for 30-40 mins until it thickens. Remember to stir it once a while to prevent the bottom from burning. (It depends what viscosity you want. The longer it takes for sauté, the thicker it becomes.)
Enjoy this authentic sweet red bean soup instant pot recipe! Also, check out these mango sticky rice, grass jelly, ginger milk curd, taro ice cream and white rabbit candy ice cream recipes.
More Dessert Recipes You May Also Like:
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Red Bean Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup Adzuki bean (red mung beans)
- 2 small pieces Dried mandarin peel
- 6 cups Water
- ¾ cup Rock sugar Or Brown sugar (Add sugar to your taste)
Instructions
- Wash or rinse a cup of red beans then put it in the instant pot, pressure cooker.
- Next, add 2 small pieces of dried mandarin peels.
- After that, pour 6 cups of water. Close the lid and vent. Then, push the manual button and adjust time for 45 minutes at high pressure.
- The following, quickly release the pressure and open the lid. Then, add ¾ cup of rock sugar or brown sugar (add sweet to your taste) and sauté for 30-40 mins until it thickens. Remember to stir it once a while to prevent the bottom from burning. (It depends what viscosity you want. The longer time it takes for sauté, the thicker it becomes.)
Notes
Cooking tips for how to make hong dou tang (紅豆湯):
- Wash and rinse adzuki beans (red beans) and dried mandarin peels
- Put adzuki beans, dried mandarin peel and water into pressure cooker manual for 45 minutes at high pressure
- After that quickly release the pressure, open the lid add ¾ cup of rock sugar or brown sugar (add sweet to your taste)
- Sauté for 30-40 mins until it thickens. Remember to stir it once a while to prevent the bottom from burning. (It depends what viscosity you want. The longer it takes for sauté, the thicker it becomes.)
Danny
Hi,
If I’m making two cups of beans, how many cups of water would I need to add? I would like to freeze the leftovers to be eaten later or for your red bean ice recipe.
Thank you for the great recipes.
Tracy O.
Hi Danny,
At least add 2-3 cups more. So, I suggest adding at least 8 cups of water for 2 cups of beans. Thank you for your question.
Maddie
Thanks for the recipe, it reminds me of when my grandmother's version. Question - I did saute the soup for 20-25 minutes because I loved it thicker, but once I put it in the fridge, it congealed so it was more of a jello/paste consistency. Why does that happen and how can I avoid that? I was hoping to have a thick and cold red bean soup. Thanks!
Tracy O.
Yes, it will be thicker or congealed when it's cold in the refrigerator. You can always add a little water and warm them up in the microwave before eating. Or, you can saute it for 15-20 minutes. Then, let it cool off a little bit, it will be thicker.