Popsicle Recipe — Red Azuki Bean

If you’ve ever been to Malaysia or any other country along the equator you will know that we experience humid hot summers all year long. Ever wonder how we are on such a hot day here? There is no better way to survive the hot summer day or to spice up special occasions than to indulge in a fun treat like a frozen popsicle. It is a great way to enjoy our favorite fresh fruit, fruit juice, and ice cream all in one healthy snack. Today I bring to you a unique authentic Malaysian homemade best popsicle recipe made out of red azuki beans!

Most of us tend to head over to our local convenience store or for those Malaysians out there we buy them from roadside peddlers and roadside stores. Most of the time, such an ice-cold popsicle contains a lot of added sugar such as high fructose corn syrup which is a sweet enzyme similar to sugar, but it carries the potential for a toxic response, especially in the digestive system.

Another bummer is that sometimes the delicious ice pop you always buy from the store might not even contain real fruit or even fruit purees… In the long run not only are you affecting your health (or your kids’ health) but also you aren’t getting healthy popsicles that are worth your money!

DIY Your Own Healthy Popsicle

The amazing thing about this cool treat is that there are a myriad of new recipes and fun shapes to experiment with using different molds when trying out healthy popsicle recipes. Only a few simple ingredients are required to achieve the creamy popsicles you desire. The recipe today is mainly for red azuki bean popsicles but I will also be sharing some of my favorite different flavor combinations from some of the best healthy popsicle recipes I have seen.

What is Red Azuki Bean?

Red azuki bean is a bean commonly cultivated in East Asia and the best part of this red azuki bean popsicle recipe is that there are many health benefits to red azuki bean making this one of the most healthy homemade fruit popsicles.

Here are some of the commonly associated health benefits of the red azuki bean:

1. Prevents cell damage – they contain at least 29 different antioxidants
2. Helps with weight loss – A 100-gram portion contains about 25% of your recommended daily amount of fiber. High-fiber foods are usually more filling, so you’re more likely to feel fuller and eat less.
3. Reduced chance of birth defects – A 100-gram serving of adzuki beans provides you with almost one-third of the folate you need in a day it helps reduce the risk of serious birth defects in the spinal cord and brain. 
4. Improves muscle and bone strength – azuki beans have calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium that help your muscles work well and make your bones less breakable.

This makes the Red Azuki Bean popsicle one of the most healthy popsicle recipes!

Background on the Red Azuki Bean Popsicle Recipe

Red bean popsicles were one of my favorite luxurious treats during my childhood days. The creamy coconut milk with wholesome red azuki bean fragrance is unforgettable and plays a big part in my childhood memories. As I was feeling rather nostalgic, I decided to share my childhood joy by sharing this old-time treat with my husband and kids. When my husband saw these homemade ice pops he was ecstatic and said “hey, this tastes like my childhood too!” 🙂

A little background on this traditional red azuki bean popsicle. The taste of this red azuki bean popsicle is similar to “AisKrim Potong” (Cut-Out Ice Cream in the Malaysian Malay Language), a traditional homemade dessert treat that is hardly found nowadays. In the warm weather of Malaysia, it was a simple way to quench our thirst and it was a delicious way for us to enjoy red azuki bean.

In the olden days, AisKrim Potong is sold by an ice-cream man (normally the husband of the ice-cream maker) with a distinguishable umbrella and bell on his motorcycle or bicycle. He usually comes around the same time every day, stops his bicycle at the same spot, and rings his bell to call his little ice-cream fans who would rush out from their home or school with some coins in their hands.

He serves his little fans by cutting a small paper carton of hard ice cream into a rectangular shape, either inserting it in between 2 rectangular wafers or, inserting wooden sticks into the ice cream, peeling away the remaining carton paper and giving it to his fans with an exchange of 10-20 cents (some 30-40 years ago). There are several flavors to AisKrim Potong, Red bean (azuki bean) is the most popular flavor among them, other flavors like durian, corn, jackfruit, and other tropical fruits are equally as tasty too.

Just the other day, I was attending a local community function, celebrating an early mid-autumn festival, to my surprise to find this man with his motorcycle selling Ice Cream Potong by the roadside, my hubby and I each ordered a red azuki bean ice-cream potong. The main difference between this traditional cold treat with a popsicle is that the ice-cream potong is cut and then pierced with a skewer before it is served.

In the olden days, we didn’t have plastic popsicle molds, and even popsicle sticks were hard to get; instead, we filled popsicle mixtures into long, narrow plastic bags. Then, we just tie a knot to the popsicle bag so that the mixture won’t flow out when placed horizontally in the freezer. When the popsicles are all frozen up, we just cut away the knot, slide the popsicle out a little…. lick it, suck it, or chew it, whichever way we like, and we don’t really bother if other people stare at us weirdly. Ah, the beauty of childhood!

We can even cut the popsicle into half if we feel that a whole stick is a little too much for them. I find the popsicle bag to be very handy as it has a good design that suits the hot weather. It holds the liquid when the pop melts, and after you have finished all the solids, you go for the liquid 😉

Nowadays, these healthy homemade popsicles are hard to find as those commercially available in grocery stores are not as authentic as the ones made by our ice cream man, and they are not as healthy. Hence, if you are craving some popsicles on a hot day (or even a cold one — we don’t judge!), try giving your own popsicles by trying out this red bean azuki simple popsicle recipe, and there you have it — some easy homemade popsicles!

Variations on Perfecting the Red Bean Azuki Popsicle Recipe

1. If you use canned chunky azuki bean paste or red kidney bean paste, your popsicle will taste a little different than using fresh azuki beans as they have been manufactured.
2. A pro tip is to precook your beans and keep them in the fridge before you plan to make your popsicles so you save time. I usually use left-over azuki beans from my azuki bean soup tong sui.
3. If you prefer to taste the texture of chunky azuki beans in the popsicle, don’t blend the mixture with a blender; instead, use a fork to mash it a little so that it won’t harden as a bean when frozen.
4. The sweetness of your popsicle tends to decrease at a lower temperature, so unless you prefer a less sweet popsicle for healthy eating, you can add a little more syrup to the mixture to make it a little sweeter than you want.

Common Combinations of Fruit for Popsicle Recipes

We always see aesthetic classic popsicle molds filled with different colors and flavors on Pinterest or social media, don’t we? Well, you can always combine your favorite ingredients together to create the best summer popsicle recipes, as there are tons of ways to make a fruit pop recipe. Here are some combinations you can try in your homemade popsicle recipes.

• Berry Bang: Mixed berries or your preferred berries
• Tropical Paradise: Pineapples/Mangoes/Passionfruit or all three
• Pretty Peach: Peaches + Strawberries
• Refreshing Watermelon: Mint + Watermelon
• Exotic Wonders: Mango + Orange + Coconut

For creamy popsicles

Adding Greek yogurt or pureed favorite fruits into your popsicle molds, ice cube trays (to create bite-sized popsicles), or plastic cups or paper cups (if you don’t have popsicle molds) and mix together with unsweetened coconut milk to give it a subtle sweet flavor.

If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can always blend all your fruit together and add something creamy, like ice cream, to create a thicker consistency and a creamier popsicle.

For transparent popsicles

Instead of blending your fruit or adding yogurt, add fresh sliced fruit into your popsicle molds and mix them with coconut water and honey. As coconut water is clear, your popsicles will come out translucent, and you will be able to see the fruits suspended in the middle of your popsicle! They make such a lovely sweet addition as fruit desserts and are the perfect treat for a sweet tooth as well!

You can also make another fun version without using Greek yogurt. Add fresh sliced fruit (instead of puréed) to the molds. Then mix together coconut water and honey and pour into the molds over the fruit, and freeze. Because the coconut water is clear, you’ll be able to see the different colors of sliced fruit through the popsicles. They are so pretty!

How to get homemade popsicles out of the mold

The hardest part about making your own homemade popsicles is getting them out of the mold. Besides using the plastic bag method, you can run your popsicle mold under warm water for a few seconds. As warmer water expands the mold, your popsicles should easily slide out of your mold and into the bowl you place below it. Make sure the water is not hot, tho, as it will melt your popsicle before it makes its way into your mouth!

Continue to Content

RED AZUKI BEAN POPSICLE RECIPE

Yield: 6 - 8 POPSICLES

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Additional Time: 1 minute

Total Time: 2 hours 16 minutes

Red azuki bean popsicle has been my favorite luxurious treat in childhood days… the creamy coconut milk with wholesome red azuki bean fragrance is just unforgettable… In recalling my faded memories and sharing this old-time treat with my husband and kids, I made this azuki bean popsicle. The husband said that “hey, it has the taste of my childhood too!” 🙂

Get the recipe and method to make this creamy red azuki bean popsicle after this jum

Enjoy making them!

Print

Ingredients

Sweetened Chunky Azuki Bean Paste – to make around 250 gram / 8.8 oz.

• Azuki Bean / Red Bean – 150 gram / 7 oz
• Water
• Sugar – 80 gram / 3 oz

Coconut Milk Mixture

• Coconut Milk – 180ml / 3/4 cup
• Evaporated Milk – 180ml / 3/4 cup
• Syrup to taste
• Salt – 1/2 teaspoon

Utensils & Tools

• Popsicle Mold
• Blender
• Saucepan or small pot
• Measuring Cup
• Kitchen Weighing Scale

Instructions

1. Wash azuki beans with water and boil them in a saucepan or small pot full of water. Once boil, drain them in a colander.
2. Put the beans back to the saucepan or small pot, boil them again with water just enough to cover them. Simmer until the beans are soft and absorbed all the water (pour away excess water if you have too much). It may take around 30-60 minutes. Keep an eye on them when simmering so that they won’t get burned at the bottom. Add water when necessary. Pre-soak azuki beans (about 3-5 hours) may take lesser time to cook.
3. Stir in sugar and cook with low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to let it cool.
4. Mix coconut milk and evaporated milk in the blender.
5. Add salt into the mixture.
6. When the azuki bean paste has cooled down to room temperature or cool enough to touch, measure 250 grams to add into the blender.
7. Blend the mixture to mix well and add syrup to your preferred sweetness.
8. Pour the azuki mixture into the popsicle molds and place the sticks into the molds.
9. Place the molds into the freezer for overnight.
10. Served chilled.
    
    

Notes

1. You can use canned chunky azuki bean paste or red kidney bean paste too but it will taste a little different.
2. To shorten your preparation time, you can always precook the azuki bean and refrigerated it until ready to use. What I usually do is I used left-over azuki beans from my azuki bean soup tong sui.
3. If you prefer to have chunky azuki beans in the popsicle, don’t blend the mixture with a blender. Use a fork to mash it a little so that it won’t get harden as a bean when frozen.
4. The taste of sweetness decreases in a lower temperature, so add a little more syrup in the mixture to make it a little sweeter than you want.

Get the full article at https://www.craftpassion.com/recipe-red-azuki-bean-popsicle/

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