Process healthy and easy red beans with these 4 tips

If you are planning to buy kidney beans to process them into porridge or other delicious foods, first make sure you know how to process kidney beans so they are still rich in nutrients.

How to process red beans correctly?

Red beans are one of the foods that are rich in fiber. In addition, kidney beans contain folic acid, calcium, carbohydrates, and are high in protein. In order not to lose the benefits or nutrients in nuts, you need to cook them or process them properly. The following are some precise steps for processing red beans.

1. Choose the right kidney beans

Before processing kidney beans for cooking, make sure you know how to choose the right kidney beans. If you buy dry kidney beans, choose one that has a smooth surface, is perfectly shaped, doesn't have a lot of dirt attached, doesn't sprout, doesn't rot, isn't black in color, and doesn't show any wrinkles. These tips also apply when choosing fresh kidney beans.

If you buy red beans that have been boiled, choose one that doesn't smell sour, isn't slippery / slimy, and is soft enough. If you buy canned kidney beans, choose one that is not dented, leaking, dirty, and rust-free. Also pay attention to the expiration date and best before that's on the tin.

2. Wash thoroughly

After buying, wash kidney beans in running water until clean. Especially for boiled and canned red beans, wash them until the surface of the beans is rough and there is no remaining mucus or soaking water.

3. Soak the red beans

After selecting good kidney beans, make sure to wash them under running water. After that, you need to soak it for 1-2 hours. Soaking is done to soften the red beans, making it easier for you to process the red beans into delicious food. Prepare a pot or basin filled with clean water for soaking. Here are the instructions for soaking it.

For dried kidney beans, soak them in water overnight. Make sure all the beans are submerged in water. The kidney beans will expand to 2 times as much. So add water until it is enough to cover the expanded beans.
For fresh kidney beans, just soak them for 1-2 hours before cooking.

4. Boiling

Red beans contain a natural toxin called phytohemagglutinin. Symptoms of poisoning include nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, followed by diarrhea. The proper soaking and boiling processes can remove the toxins.

Here's how: after soaking (see point above), remove the soaking water and then boil the red beans in fresh water for 2 hours over medium heat until tender. When boiling, make sure the beans are always submerged in water. If the water has shrunk a lot, there is no need to hesitate to increase it.

You can check the tenderness of red beans by pressing them with your fingers. If the texture is no longer crispy and crumbles easily, the beans are perfectly cooked.

Once cooked, discard the cooking water and then pour the beans with cold water and drain. Red beans are ready to be processed into a variety of delicious dishes. If you boil it for cooking, for example, red bean ice, do not add sugar until the beans are really soft. Because the beans will be softer longer.

So make sure you cook or process kidney beans until cooked and follow all the steps above. Besides being soft and delicious, red beans are safer to eat if processed properly. Happy cooking!