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Recipe

Sekihan: Japanese Red Bean Rice for Celebrations

Sekihan (赤飯, “red rice”) is glutinous mochi rice cooked in adzuki bean broth until it turns deep ceremonial red. The technique is specific: you do not cook the rice and beans together from the start. You extract the color first by simmering adzuki beans for 15 minutes, save that red liquid, then use it as the cooking water for the mochi rice. Gomashio — black sesame seeds toasted with salt — goes on top. This is served at weddings, birthdays, graduations, and New Year across Japan.

The rice type matters: use mochi rice (glutinous rice) → /rice/what-is-mochi-rice

AT A GLANCE

  • Prep: 30 min | Cook: 50 min | Total: 80 min (plus 4–8h mochi rice soak)
  • Serves: 4–6
  • Difficulty: medium

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Ingredients

  • 3 cups (540g) mochi rice (glutinous rice), soaked 4–8 hours or overnight
  • 100g adzuki beans (dried)
  • 600ml water (for simmering the beans)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sake
  • Gomashio: 3 tbsp black sesame seeds + 1 tsp sea salt, dry-roasted and roughly crushed

Method

  1. Extract the red color. Rinse adzuki beans. Place in a pot with 600ml water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not cook the beans fully — they should still be firm. The water will be deep red.
  2. Save the broth. Drain the beans and save the cooking liquid. This deep red liquid is your dye. Reserve the beans separately. Add cold water to the reserved liquid to make 400ml total.
  3. Drain the mochi rice. After its 4–8 hour soak, drain the mochi rice thoroughly.
  4. Steamer method (traditional): spread drained mochi rice in a steamer lined with cheesecloth. Pour 200ml of the adzuki broth evenly over the rice. Steam 20 minutes. Pour remaining 200ml broth over the rice. Steam 15 more minutes until fully cooked and red throughout.
  5. Rice cooker method (alternative): place drained mochi rice + adzuki beans + 400ml adzuki broth + 1 tsp salt + 1 tsp sake in rice cooker. Use the mochi rice/sweet rice setting (not the regular white rice setting — the water ratio is different).
  6. Fold in the beans. Gently fold the cooked adzuki beans into the finished rice. Use a cutting and folding motion to avoid crushing the beans.
  7. Make gomashio. Toast black sesame seeds and salt in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Lightly crush in a mortar — partially ground, not a powder.
  8. Serve. Mound sekihan in bowls and sprinkle gomashio generously on top.

What makes this work

The key technique is the two-stage color extraction. The red color comes from anthocyanins in the adzuki bean skins — water-soluble pigments that leach into the cooking water during simmering. By simmering the beans separately for 15 minutes and saving that liquid, you get a concentrated red broth that colors the rice evenly.

Why two-stage steaming matters: if you pour all the adzuki broth over the rice at once, the bottom layer absorbs most of the color while the top stays pale. Dividing the broth into two additions (200ml at the start, 200ml after 20 minutes) distributes the red color evenly from top to bottom.

The rice cooker method is easier but gives slightly less even color distribution. For celebrations where appearance matters, the steamer method produces a more uniformly red result.

Variations

  • Sasage beans instead of adzuki: traditional in some regions of Japan. Sasage (cow peas) hold their shape better during cooking — adzuki beans can split during simmering, which some cooks consider inauspicious (the split symbolizes something breaking). If appearance matters, sasage is the safer choice.
  • Instant Pot method: place mochi rice + adzuki beans + adzuki broth in the Instant Pot. Manual Low Pressure for 15 minutes, then 20-minute natural release. The color distribution is less even than the steamer method but the result is still good.

Frequently asked questions

What is sekihan served for?

Sekihan is served at celebrations in Japan — birthdays, weddings, school graduations, coming-of-age ceremonies, New Year. The red color from adzuki beans is considered auspicious (medetai) in Japanese culture. It is also served at funerals and memorial events in some regions, where the red symbolizes a return to origins rather than celebration.

Can I use regular rice instead of mochi rice?

Not as a direct substitution. Regular Japanese short-grain rice (uruchimai) produces a completely different texture — separate, fluffy grains rather than the sticky, chewy texture that defines sekihan. If you cannot find mochi rice, mix 2 parts regular short-grain rice with 1 part mochi rice for a compromise, but it will not have the authentic sticky quality. The adzuki broth staining works on both types.

Why does the rice turn red?

The red color comes from anthocyanins in the skin of adzuki beans. These water-soluble pigments leach into the cooking water during simmering. When the mochi rice absorbs this colored broth, the starch granules take on the red-purple hue. This is why you simmer the beans separately first and save the liquid — cooking rice and beans together from the start does not distribute the color evenly.

What are adzuki beans?

Adzuki (azuki, 小豆) are small red beans native to East Asia, used in both savory and sweet Japanese cooking. In savory applications like sekihan, they provide color and a subtle nutty flavor. In sweets, they are cooked with sugar to make anko (red bean paste) used in mochi, dorayaki, and taiyaki. Dried adzuki beans are widely available at Asian grocery stores and online. They do not require overnight soaking the way larger beans do — 30 minutes is sufficient.

Can I make sekihan ahead of time?

Yes. Sekihan keeps well at room temperature for 4–6 hours, which is how it is often served at events. For longer storage, refrigerate and reheat by steaming for 5–10 minutes — microwaving tends to dry out the mochi rice. The red color holds well for 1–2 days. Freezing works for up to 1 month: wrap portions in plastic, freeze flat, and steam from frozen (10–15 minutes).

What is gomashio?

Gomashio (胡麻塩) is a Japanese condiment of roasted sesame seeds and salt, typically at a 3:1 or 5:1 sesame-to-salt ratio. For sekihan, black sesame seeds (kuro goma) are traditional — the dark color contrasts with the red rice. The sesame is toasted in a dry pan until fragrant, then lightly crushed with the salt in a mortar. Gomashio adds a nutty, salty crunch that balances the starchy sweetness of the mochi rice.

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