Monaka (最中)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof spatula
• •Shallow tray for cooling anko
• •Kitchen scale

Instructions

1. 1

   Sort the beans

   Pick through the azuki and remove any broken beans or small stones, then rinse well. Good anko begins with clean beans. There is nothing in the shell to hide a muddy taste later.

2. 2

   Boil and drain

   Put the beans in a pot with plenty of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain. This first boil, shibukiri, pulls away some harshness from the skins, so the finished paste tastes clean rather than flatly bitter.

3. 3

   Simmer until tender

   Return the beans to the pot and cover with fresh water by about 5cm. Simmer gently, adding small splashes of water as needed to keep the beans covered, until they crush easily between finger and thumb, 50 to 70 minutes. Do not rush them. Sugar tightens bean skins, so the beans must become tender before sweetness enters the pot.

   If a bean resists at the center, keep cooking. Firm centers now become gritty anko later.
4. 4

   Sweeten the anko

   Drain off excess liquid, leaving the beans moist but not soupy. Add the sugar in three additions over medium-low heat, stirring after each one melts in. Adding it gradually keeps the paste smooth and lets you judge the moisture instead of trapping yourself in syrup.

5. 5

   Cook it firm

   Stir and mash the beans lightly as they thicken, keeping some texture if you want tsubuan, coarse bean paste. Cook until the anko is glossy and a spoon dragged through the pot leaves a clean path that closes slowly. Stir in the salt at the end, not to make it salty, but to bring the bean flavor into focus.

6. 6

   Cool completely

   Spread the anko on a tray or shallow bowl and let it cool completely. Warm paste carries moisture into the wafer and makes it dull. Cool, firm paste keeps the shell crisp long enough for the first bite to matter.

7. 7

   Fill and close

   Spoon about 25g anko into one wafer shell, mound it gently, and close with a second shell. Press only enough to settle the filling. If you crush the shell, the sweet loses the lightness that makes monaka monaka.

8. 8

   Serve at once

   Arrange the monaka in an odd-number grouping if serving on a tray, with space around each piece. Eat them within an hour of filling. Over time the wafer softens, which is not a disaster, only a reminder that this sweet was meant to be assembled close to the guest.

Chef Tips

• •Buy monaka-dane from a Japanese confectionery supplier and keep the package sealed until the anko is cold. The wafer is thin and honest. It takes moisture from the room almost as readily as from the filling.
• •For tsubuan, leave some beans whole and mash only enough to bind the paste. For koshian, smooth bean paste, you would pass the cooked beans through a sieve and wash the starch before sweetening. Both are honmono, but tsubuan is kinder to a home kitchen.
• •Do not overfill. A modest mound that reaches the edges when closed is enough. Monaka wants balance between shell and bean, not a heroic jaw exercise.
• •If the anko seems loose, return it to the pan and cook a few minutes longer. The correct paste holds its shape on a spoon without weeping syrup.

Advance Preparation

• •The anko can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Bring it back to cool room temperature before filling so it spreads without cracking the wafers.
• •Monaka shells keep best in their original sealed package in a dry place. Once opened, use them soon and protect them from humidity.
• •Assemble monaka no more than 1 hour before serving. For the crispest table, set out the shells and anko separately and fill them just before tea.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 60g)