Name: Sekihan Recipe (Japanese Adzuki Bean Rice)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 2 cups Glutinous rice (360ml); 4 Tbsp Adzuki beans (50g); 2 cups Water (360ml); Toppings: Salt and toasted sesame seeds (optional)

5 from 4 votes

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Servings to 6 servings

JUMP TO RECIPE & VIDEO

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

Looking for Japanese rice dishes? Try my Daikon Takikomi Gohan, Vegetarian Chahan, or Brown Rice in Pressure Cooker!

Sekihan(Japanese azuki bean rice) in a rice bowl.

I’ll walk you through the ingredients and step-by-step instructions. I hope you enjoy it!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

If you enjoy mochi, you’ll also love the chewy and fluffy texture of sekihan.
It’s perfect for making onigiri rice balls!
You can effortlessly prepare delicious sekihan with a pressure cooker.

Sekihan (Japanese Adzuki Bean Rice)

Sekihan is a traditional Japanese dish made from glutinous rice and red beans called adzuki beans. Its name comes from “seki,” meaning red, and “han,” meaning rice. Red foods are believed to bring good luck in Japan, so Sekihan is often time enjoyed during celebratory occasions of all kinds, such as Japanese New Year’s Day, Children’s Day, birthdays, etc.

Recipe Ingredients

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this Sekihan Recipe:

Glutinous rice is also called sticky rice or sweet rice. It’s different from Japanese short-grain rice (or sushi rice) as they have different types of starch. It’s commonly used to make mochi (rice cake), okowa (steamed rice), and sekihan.
Adzuki beans bring a beautiful red color to this sekihan. They’re rich in dietary fiber, vitamin B, polyphenols, and minerals. Dried beans require soaking beforehand, but with adzuki beans, it is not necessary. Anko, often used in Japanese sweets, is made from them.

How To Make Sekihan: STEP BY STEP

Here are some quick visual instructions! For the video and all the detailed ingredients and instructions, go to the printable recipe card below.

Step 1

Rinse rice and soak it with plenty of water.

Step 2

Add adzuki beans and water in a pressure cooker, close the lid and cook adzuki beans.

Step 3

Once the pressure is released, add rice and cook.

Step 4

Turn off the heat and leave it for 10 minutes to steam the rice.

I hope you will love this fluffy, beautiful red rice! If desired, top it with a sprinkling of gomashio (black sesame seeds) to make it even more delicious and flavorful!

A Pressure Cooker

Let me introduce my favorite pressure cooker.

I use this 2.5 L pressure cooker, the smallest size in this series. It’s light enough to hold with one hand, which makes it very handy. It is large enough for families with small children and great for cooking brown rice and beans. It comes with two weights: red for high pressure and white for low pressure. You just put the weight on the lid, and there is no need to change the setting like in a dial-type cooker.

When pressure is reached, the weight jiggles and makes a whooshing sound. So even pressure cooker beginners 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 are planning to buy a pressure cooker, I highly recommend this zero-pressure cooker.

Storage

I recommend wrapping one serving of rice with cling film and storing it in the freezer, which will last you for a month! I usually make sekihan onigiri (rice balls) and put them in the freezer as our kids love onigiri.

Want More Plant-Based Ideas?

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Leave a Rating!

I hope you enjoy this Sekihan! If you try it, don’t forget to leave a rating to share your thoughts—I love hearing from you!

Sekihan Recipe (Japanese Adzuki Bean Rice)

5 from 4 votes

Prep: 35

Cook: 10

Total: 45

Servings: to 6 servings

Author: Juri Austin

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Equipment

Pressure cooker, 2.5L
Shamoji
Rice cup, 180ml

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups Glutinous rice, 360ml
▢ 4 Tbsp Adzuki beans, 50g
▢ 2 cups Water, 360ml
▢ Toppings: Salt and toasted sesame seeds, optional

Instructions

Soak rice: Rinse rice under running water a few times quickly, soak in water for more than 30 minutes and drain.
Cook adzuki beans: Put adzuki beans and water (2 cups) in a pressure cooker, close the lid, and cook over high heat. When pressure is reached, lower the heat, cook for 3 minutes, and turn off the heat.
Cook rice: Open the lid after pressure is released, add rice, close the lid and cook over high heat. When pressure is reached, lower the heat, cook for 3 minutes, and turn off the heat.
Steam: Leave it for 10 minutes to steam the rice.
Stir: Open the lid after pressure is released, stir the rice gently. Top with salt and toasted black sesame seeds as you like.

Video

Notes

Storage: Wrap one serving of rice in cling film and store it in the freezer. It will last for a month in the freezer.
The water-to-rice ratio is 1:1. I use a 180ml Japanese rice cup, but you can use a measuring cup of any size to measure it in the same way.

Nutrition

Serving: 1servingCalories: 301kcalCarbohydrates: 64.7gProtein: 3.9g

This nutritional information is estimated and provided for general reference only.

Course: Rice

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: sekihan

Did You Make This Recipe?

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Juri Austin

Hi! I’m Juri, founder of Chef JA Cooks and the creator and photographer of this site. I’m here to guide you in authentic yet easy-to-follow Japanese recipes! Let’s explore the world of Japanese cuisine together!

Learn More About Juri

5 from 4 votes (4 ratings without comment)

6 Comments

Veronique says:

Mar 16, 2022 at 9:36 AM

Hi Juri,
How long would you cook this dish without the pressure cooker?
Thank you for all your work making such a beautiful and practical website
Veronique

1. JURI says:
  
  Mar 16, 2022 at 4:37 PM
  
  Hi Veronique, thanks for your comment! If you use a regular pot, add beans and water to a pot, bring to a boil on medium heat and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. Then add rice and cook for 10 minutes over low heat. I hope that helps!
  
veronique says:

Dec 10, 2021 at 12:51 PM

Hi Juri,
I love your website, one of the best.
I haven’t make the onigiri yet, and I wonder if you can eat them cold?
If you freeze them, how long do they take to thaw, and can they be put on a tray and served directly once thawed?
thank you

1. JURI says:
  
  Dec 11, 2021 at 2:49 AM
  
  Hi Veronique! Thanks for your comment! Yes, you can eat them cold, warm, or room temperature. I prefer eating them at room temperature though. When I eat frozen onigiri, I microwave them and it takes a couple of minutes to warm them up. And yeah, you can put them on a tray and enjoy!
  
  1. veronique says:
    
    Jan 7, 2022 at 9:13 PM
    
    Thank you Juri for your prompt answer…. and I have an other question:
    What would you traditionally serve with adzuki rice or with onigiri ?
  2. JURI says:
    
    Jan 10, 2022 at 5:50 AM
    
    Hi Veronique, traditionally we serve azuki rice or any rice with one main dish, 2 or 3 side dishes, and a soup. For example, I would serve azuki rice with miso soup, tsukemono (pickled vegetables), gomaae (sesame salad), hiyayakko (chilled tofu), and main. The main dish would be grilled fish (such as salmon, mackerel etc). I hope it helps!