Adzuki Bean Ceviche

Azuki Bean Ceviche

Alkaline, refreshing for the summer or used as a garnish for many other dishes, azuki beans can be cooked in many different ways, all healthy and delicious.

Ceviche is typically made from fresh raw fish marinated in fresh citrus juices, most commonly lemon or lime, and spiced with ají, chilli peppers or other seasonings including chopped onions, salt, and coriander. Also is popular in other countries of South America, it’s prepared in a delicious way. There are a thousand ways to prepare it, but it’s basically a citrus way of marinating the fish with a touch of spice.

I’ll teach you a very simple way to prepare it with vegetables, they will surprise you for sure…

Servings: 4     Difficulty: Medium    Time: 30 Minutes

(+ 1 hour marinating in the fridge)

Ingredients

• 300 GR AZUKI BEANS
• 200 GR FENNEL
• 200 GR CARROTS
• 10 GR FRESH CORIANDER
• 10 GR CELERY LEAVES
• 200 GR AVOCADO
• SALT, PEPPER AND GROUND CUMIN

Marinade

• 100 ML LEMON JUICE
• 100 ML OF LIME JUICE
• 240 GR GINGER
• 18 GR CHIPOTLE / AJI (SPICY PEPPERS)
• 1 CELERY STALK
• 25 GR APIO
• 1 CLOVE GARLIC
• 20 GR RICE SYRUP

For the red onion marinade

• 200 GR CHOPPED RED ONION
• 3 GR SALT
• 7 GR LIME ZEST

Instructions

1. Soak the azuki overnight with twice the amount of water. The next morning, throw the soaking water and add new water along with a 5 cm strip of kombu seaweed. Cook them, making them boil gently until tender, but not overcooked.
2. In a separate casserole, put water to boil with salt. Chop carrots and fennel into cubes. Cook or blanch the vegetables separately until crunchy. Let them cool down and set aside.
3. Prepare the marinade of the red onion, cutting the onion into small cubes and mixing it with the salt and the lime zest.
4. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade in a high bowl: the lemon and the lime juices, the grated ginger, the garlic clove, the ají or jalapeño pepper, the rice syrup, the salt and the pepper. Blend everything, strain and taste if it tastes good.
5. Mix the azuki, the marinade, the avocado, the blanched vegetables, the chopped celery leaves and the fresh coriander.
6. Marinate everything for at least an hour until the ceviche has an intense citric flavour.

KITCHEN TIPS: It’s better to add the salt when the adzukis are already cooked, at the end. When you prepare the marinade, it has to be rich, lemony and spicy, and you have to like it before you add it to the azuki preparation. If it’s too acid for you, add a little bit of extra rice syrup for balancing this acidity.