White Bean Paste Recipe ( Shiroan 白あん )

01 - Place the Lima Beans in a large bowl and rinse them under running water. 02 - Once they feel clean, fill up the bowl with water and soak them overnight ( about 10 hours ). 03 - After about 10 hours the Beans should lose the skin very easily. Using your fingers, remove the skin from each one Bean, one by one. 04 - Add the unskinned Beans in a pot. 05 - Pour just enough cold water in the pot to cover the Beans. 06 - Bring it to a Boil on medium heat and let it boil for 2 minutes. 07 - Once foam starts foaming, drain the Water ( using a sieve ), quickly rinse the pot and put the Beans back in the pot. Add cold Water just enough to cover the beans. 08 - Cover with a lid, slightly ajar and let simmer on low heat for about 2 hours or until the Beans turn extremely soft. During this time, remove the foam every time it comes out. Always make sure the amount of water is just enough to cover the beans. When you can easily crash the Beans between your fingrs, they're ready. 09 - Drain the liquid, saving a little bit of cooking liquid for the next step. 10 - Transfer a small portion of drained Beans into a fine-meshed strainer or a flour sifter placed over a large plate ( or inside a food processor to mash the beans ). Push the Beans through the strainer ( using a wooden spatula ) to obtain a fine and smooth Paste. If the White Bean Paste is too dry, put a little bit of cooking liquid. 11 - Put the White Bean Paste in a clean saucepan. 12 - Add Sugar and Salt and mix well to combine. 13 - Turn on the heat to medium low heat and cook until the Sugar has dissolved. At this point the Paste has become a bit more liquid. 14 - Cook to low heat, letting the moisture evaporate from the Paste until it becomes a smooth mold-able paste. This should take about 15-20 minutes. Stir the Paste all the time to make sure it doesn't burn. When you can draw a line on the bottom of the pan, it’s done. 15 - Remove from the heat and put it immediately in a container.