Red bean ice cream

The freezer container of my new ice cream maker has been sitting untouched in my freezer the last three months. Last weekend, I finally got around to using it to make red bean ice cream. The recipe is from Pichet Ong’s The Sweet Spot. The ice cream turned out well , my only complaint would be the red bean was too hard even though I cooked it an hour longer than he recommended. If I ever make it again, I’ll definitely soak the red bean overnight prior to cooking it. As well, I might make only ½ the recipe since I only had one scoop out of the whole quart. I made poor Tomy eat the rest of it.

Red Bean Ice Cream
Adapted from Pichet Ong’s The Sweet Spot

Red Bean
½ cup (3½ ounces/107g) dried adzuki beans, picked over and rinsed
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Custard
3 large egg yolks
1 cup (8 ounces/227g) whole milk
¾ cup (5 ounces/141g) sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 cup (8 ounces/227g) heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. To cook the red bean: Put the red beans, lemon juice, sugar, and salt into a small saucepan and cover with 1¾ cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously for 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. If the mixture starts to look dry at any point, add ½ cup water. Set aside to cool completely.

2. To make the custard: Whisk the egg yolks in a medium mixing bowl until broker; set aside. Put the milk, sugar, salt, and ½ cup of the cream in a medium saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbles begin to form around the edges. Remove from the heat and pour ½ cup of the warm milk mixture onto the egg yolks in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Transfer the yolk mixture back to the saucepan, set over low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon and registers 165F, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla and cooled red beans.

3. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the remaining cream. Set over a larger bowl of ice and water and stir occasionally until cool to the touch, about 40F. Alternatively, cover and refrigerate until cold.

4. Transfer the mixture to your ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer’s instructions. Enjoy immediately, or freezer for a firmer ice cream. The ice cream is best enjoyed fresh, but it will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 days.