Sekihan (Japanese azuki bean rice)

Sekihan is a classic Japanese dish made from glutinous rice and azuki beans. They are sticky, while the beans are light and fluffy. Let me show you how to make this beautiful red rice!

In Japan, we often enjoy a bowl of sekihan when we want to celebrate happy events like birthdays and holidays.

But I love the texture of this rice, which is chewy and fluffy, so I often cook for an ordinary day.

This recipe is for you if:
• You love Japanese rice.
• You want to cook Japanese sekihan.
• You are looking for an easy sekihan recipe.

I will show you how to cook it in a pressure cooker as it's easy and quick!

All right, I will show you how to make it. If you want to check the recipe, please jump to the recipe card. Let's get cooking!

Jump to:

• About this recipe
• What is sekihan?
• 📋 Ingredients
• A Pressure Cooker
• 🔪Instructions
• Storage
• Thanks For Stopping By
• Watch How To Make It
• 📖 Recipe

About this recipe

• Japanese traditional recipe
• Ingredients are glutinous rice and azuki beans
• Cook rice in a pressure cooker
• Simple and easy recipe

What is sekihan?

Sekihan means red ("seki") rice ("han") in Japanese. It's made of glutinous rice and azuki beans and has been eaten in Japan for centuries.

It's a traditional rice dish and we often cook it when we celebrate something with the family.

It is said that the power to ward off evil spirits resides within red food items since ancient times. Therefore sekihan is often enjoyed during celebrations of all kinds such as new year's, children's day, birthdays, etc.

📋 Ingredients

Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).

• Glutinous rice: It's also called sticky rice and different from Japanese short-grain rice as they have different types of starch. It's commonly used to make mochi (rice cake), okowa (steamed rice), and sekihan.
• Azuki beans: Azuki beans bring beautiful red color to this sekihan. They are rich in dietary fiber, vitamin B, polyphenol, and minerals. Dried beans require soaking beforehand, but azuki beans are not necessary. Anko, which is often used in Japanese sweets, is made from them.

A Pressure Cooker

Let me introduce my favorite pressure cooker.

I use this zero pressure cooker which is smallest size in this series which is 2.5 L and light enough to hold with one hand, which is so handy. It is large enough for families with small children and great for cooking brown rice and beans.

It comes with a red weight (high pressure) and a white weight (low pressure), and you can set the pressure with these two weights. You just put the weight on the lid and no need to change the setting like the dial type cooker.

When pressure is reached, the weight jiggles and makes a whooshing sound, so even beginners of pressure cookers can easily understand the timing of lowering the heat. I like it because it's pretty easy to use.

So if you live in Japan, and planning to buy a pressure cooker, I highly recommend this zero pressure cooker.

🔪Instructions

Well, now it's time to cook! Let me show you the steps (The detailed instructions is in the recipe card). You can also watch this video.

1. Soak rice (Rinse rice and soak)
2. Azuki beans (Cook over high heat until pressure is reached)
3. Lower the heat (Cook for 3 minutes over low heat)
4. Add rice (Cook over high heat until pressure is reached)
5. Lower the heat (Cook for 3 minutes over low heat)
6. Steam for 10 minutes and stir gently

This fluffy, beautiful red rice is a traditional Japanese recipe that you're sure to love. To make it even more delicious and flavorful, top with salt or sesame seeds if desired!

Storage

I recommend wrapping one serving of rice with cling film and store them in the freezer, which will last you for a month!

I usually make sekihan onigiri (rice ball) and put them in the freezer as our kids love onigiri. By the way, this recipe makes 8 small onigiris.

Thanks For Stopping By

Thank you for taking time to read my blog♡ If you’ve tried this recipe(or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!

Also feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!

Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog which share simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes include vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step by step instructions.

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Watch How To Make It

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📖 Recipe