What Is Kintsuba? The Appeal of a Wagashi with Roots in the Edo Period
Kintsuba is a wagashi made by coating an (sweet bean paste) with a batter of flour dissolved in water and grilling all sides to finish. The standard shape is square, but in some regions there are round ones as well.
Its history is old, said to originate from a confection called "gintsuba" (silver sword guard) made in Kyoto during the Edo period. "Gintsuba" was a confection made by wrapping an in rice flour and grilling it, named because its shape resembled the guard (tsuba) of a sword. Later, when it was passed on to Edo, the rice-flour skin was replaced with wheat flour, and it came to be called "kintsuba" (gold sword guard).
Kintsuba is a simple confection made from adzuki beans, sugar, and agar, but precisely because of that, the quality of the ingredients determines its deliciousness—it is a confection that allows no cutting of corners.
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Basic Raw Materials Needed for Making Kintsuba
To make kintsuba, you need two main parts, broadly speaking: the "an" and the "coating."
Raw Materials for the An
The star of the an is adzuki beans. Using high-quality large-grain adzuki beans from Hokkaido gives a finish where the grains glisten and the flavor is rich. When simmering the adzuki beans, sugar and agar are needed.
For sugar, jouhakuto (fine white sugar) or granulated sugar is common. For agar, powdered agar is easy to work with and is indispensable for setting the an. Also, adding a pinch of salt brings out the sweetness.
Raw Materials for the Coating
To make the thin coating of kintsuba, you need wheat flour, rice flour, and shiratama-ko (glutinous rice flour). Use cake flour for the wheat flour, and adding rice flour and shiratama-ko creates a chewy texture.
Dissolve them in water to make a batter, and adjust the taste with sugar and salt. This coating wraps the an, and grilling adds a savory fragrance.
The An Blending Ratio Professionals Practice
The blending ratio of the an is an important point that determines the taste of the kintsuba.
Basic Blend
The basic blend is 150g of adzuki beans to 130g of sugar, 1 teaspoon of powdered agar, and 160cc of water. Making it at this ratio produces an an that is lightly sweet and where the flavor of the adzuki beans stands out.
The amount of sugar can be adjusted to taste, but at least 100g is needed. If there is too little sugar, the an becomes dry.
The Role of Agar
Agar not only sets the an but also plays the role of preventing syneresis (water separation). It is important to boil powdered agar together with water for at least 2 minutes to dissolve it completely.
If the agar is insufficient, the an will not set and the kintsuba cannot hold its shape. When you pass a chopstick through it and the thread agar no longer catches, it is ready.
The Coating Blend Balance and Tips for Grilling
The coating blend is an important element that determines the texture of the kintsuba.
Coating Blend Ratio
The basic blend is 4 tablespoons of wheat flour, 2 tablespoons of rice flour, 10g of shiratama-ko, 80g of water, 15g of sugar, and a pinch of salt. Dissolve and loosen the shiratama-ko little by little with water, taking care not to form lumps.
After adding the sugar and salt, mix in the sifted cake flour. Making the batter thin brings out the flavor of the an.
Points for Grilling
Coat a frying pan thinly with oil and grill over low heat. Hold the an in your hand, apply the coating batter one side at a time, and grill for about 30 seconds so it does not burn.
It is best to grill the broad faces on both sides first, then grill the sides. Trimming off the skin that overflows at the edges with scissors gives a clean finish.
How to Choose Adzuki Beans and Points for Pre-Treatment
The quality of the adzuki beans greatly affects the taste of the kintsuba.
How to Choose Adzuki Beans
Adzuki beans from Hokkaido have large grains and are rich in flavor. Choose ones with vivid color and evenly sized grains. Old adzuki beans have hard skins and do not soften easily even when simmered, so it is important to choose fresh ones.
Minoyo offers the finest white bean paste (shiro-an), such as Toku-Ichigo Sarashi-an and Fuji-jirushi Sarashi-an, in 12kg units, and it is favored by professional wagashi artisans as well.
Pre-Treatment of Adzuki Beans
Gently wash the adzuki beans in plenty of water, place them in a large pot with enough water to submerge them, and bring to heat. Once it comes to a boil, discard the water; repeating this process twice removes the astringency.
After that, boil the beans in about 4 to 5 times their volume of water; once it boils, lower the heat and simmer thoroughly until the beans can be easily crushed with a finger. This pre-treatment is the secret to making a refined an.
Using Sugar and Starch Syrup Appropriately
Sugar and starch syrup (mizu-ame) are important ingredients for adjusting the sweetness and texture of the an.
Types and Roles of Sugar
Jouhakuto is a common sugar characterized by a mellow sweetness. Granulated sugar has high purity and gives a crisp, clean sweetness.
Add the sugar after the adzuki beans have been simmered completely soft. Simmering the beans completely soft before adding sugar is the key to a delicious tsubu-an (chunky bean paste).
The Effects of Starch Syrup and Reduced Starch Syrup
Starch syrup (mizu-ame) gives the an a moist texture. It has been shown that using reduced starch syrup makes it possible to produce a soft, moist tsubu-an while retaining the sense of whole grains.
By using high-saccharified to medium-saccharified reduced starch syrup, you can obtain a tsubu-an that maintains a soft, excellent texture while keeping the grains firmly intact.
SourceB-Foods Co., Ltd., "Improving the Grain Feel of Tsubu-an! Softer with [Reduced Starch Syrup]"(compiled from research data)
Points to Note for Failure-Free Kintsuba Making
Let us learn about the common failures in making kintsuba and how to counter them.
The An Does Not Set
If the amount of agar is insufficient or it is not dissolved enough, the an will not set. Dissolve the powdered agar thoroughly and check by passing a chopstick through it.
Also, if there is too much water, it becomes harder to set. It is important to follow the blending ratio.
The Coating Becomes Too Thick
If the coating batter is too thick, it becomes overly thick and spoils the flavor of the an. The point is to make the batter thin and apply it thinly one side at a time.
When grilling, watch carefully over low heat and take care not to burn it. Grilling over high heat burns only the surface without cooking through to the inside.
The Adzuki Beans Fall Apart
It is important to raise the temperature gradually so the adzuki beans do not tumble about. Simmering slowly over low heat finishes them soft while keeping the grains intact.
When kneading, too, be careful not to over-mix; keep it to occasionally stirring gently with a spatula so the bottom does not scorch.
Summary: The Keys to Making Kintsuba Are Ingredient Selection and Blending
Because making kintsuba is simple, the quality of the ingredients and the blending ratio are precisely what matter. High-quality Hokkaido adzuki beans, the right blend of sugar and agar, and a balanced coating grilled thin produce a delicious kintsuba.
Carrying out the pre-treatment of the adzuki beans thoroughly, dissolving the agar completely, and grilling slowly over low heat are the secrets to success. By using reduced starch syrup, you can also finish it soft while retaining the sense of whole grains.
At Minoyo, we offer a wide range of high-quality raw materials essential for making wagashi. From the finest sarashi-an used by professional wagashi artisans to various starches and agar, we have the ideal raw materials for making kintsuba.
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