Red Bean Soup 红豆糖水

Main Ingredients:
300 g red beans (adzuki beans)

Supporting Ingredients:
30 g pandan leaves, tied into a knot
1 small piece dried tangerine peel; soaked and white pith scraped off (optional)
3 liters of water
120 g rock sugar

Cooking Steps:
1. Place red beans, pandan leaves, tangerine peel and water into the inner pot. Select “Slow Cook” mode, set temperature and time at P3; 1 hour 30 minutes, start cooking or until the red beans are soft and tender with the glass lid covered.

2. During the last 15 minutes of slow cooking, open the lid and add the rock sugar (see tips), then continue cooking until the sugar fully dissolves.

3. Transfer into a serving bowl and enjoy while hot.

Tips:
– Rock sugar must be added in the last 15 minutes of cooking. Adding sugary ingredients like rock sugar or granulated sugar right at the beginning will cause the cell walls on the surface of the red beans to become tougher, hindering water from penetrating the interior. This makes the beans harder to cook or soften. This is known in culinary terms as the “sugar-solidifying effect,” meaning sugar strengthens the outer layer of the beans.

主要材料:
300 克 红豆；小粒红豆

辅助材料：
30 克 班兰叶；打结
1小块 陈皮；泡软并刮去白色内层备用 (随喜)
3公升 清水
120 克 冰糖

做法：
1. 将红豆、班兰叶、陈皮和水加入内锅中。选择“Slow Cook”模式，设定温度和时间为P3；1小时30分钟，盖上玻璃盖，开始烹煮或直至红豆软绵。

2. 在慢炖过程的最后15分钟，打开锅盖加入冰糖（参考贴士），然后继续烹煮或直至完全溶解。

3. 将红豆水盛入碗中，趁热享用。

贴士：
– 冰糖必须在最后15分钟才加入，因为冰糖或砂糖等含糖成分若一开始就加入，会导致红豆表面的细胞壁在糖分作用下变得更结实，从而阻碍水分渗透进红豆内部，导致红豆不易煮烂或煮软。这在烹饪学上叫做“糖的固壁作用“，意即糖会让豆类的外层变得更坚固。