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The Azuki is a small (approximately 5mm) annual bean (Vigna angularis, Fabaceae) widely grown throughout northeast Asia and the Himalayas. The cultivars most familiar in northeast Asia have a uniform red color, but white, black, gray and variously mottled varieties are also known.
Names
The name azuki (also adzuki) is a transliteration of the Japanese 小豆, meaning "small bean"" (its counterpart "large bean" (大豆 daizu) being the soybean).
In Chinese, the azuki is known as 红小豆 (hong xiao dou, lit. "red small bean"), or more commonly 红豆 (hong dou, lit."red bean"), because almost all Chinese cultivars are uniformly red. In English-language discussions of Chinese topics, the term red bean is often used for azuki (especially in reference to red bean paste), but in other contexts this usage can cause confusion with other beans which are also red.
Uses
In Chinese cuisine, Korean cuisine and Japanese cuisine, the azuki bean is almost always eaten moderately sweetened. In particular, it is often boiled with sugar, resulting in red bean paste, a very common ingredient of desserts in all three cuisines.
In Japan, rice with azuki beans (赤飯 sekihan) is traditionally cooked for auspicious occasions, such as New Year. Azuki beans are also used to produce amanattō.
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