Adzuki Bean

Vigna angularis

vegetable

Adzuki bean is the small red Asian bean (Vigna angularis) widely grown in Japan, China, and Korea for sweet bean paste (anko), red bean rice, and traditional Asian desserts. The annual vine produces clusters of pods filled with shiny 5 mm red beans with a chestnut-like sweetness, lower in cooking time than most dry beans and easier to digest.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Carrots: Different root depth and the bean nitrogen fixation supports carrot growth
• Cucumbers: Live well together and the bean fixes nitrogen that cucumbers use
• Marigolds: Suppress nematodes in the root zone
• Summer Savory: Improves bean flavor and reputed to repel bean beetles

❌ Keep away from

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts. Tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Mexican bean beetle →

  Hand-pick adults and crush yellow egg masses under leaves; encourage Pediobius wasp parasitoids

• Aphids →

  Blast with water, encourage ladybugs and lacewings, avoid heavy nitrogen

• Bean rust →

  Water at the base, rotate beans out for 2 years, and remove infected plants promptly

• Spider mites →

  Mist foliage in dry weather, hose down dusty leaves, and encourage predatory mites

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest adzuki when the pods turn dry and brown and the seeds rattle inside, about 100 to 120 days from sowing for a full-season type, though early selections can finish nearer 90. Cut whole plants at the base and hang to finish drying for 1 to 2 weeks in a warm airy place, then thresh by hand or by tumbling in a sack. Store finished beans below 16 percent moisture in airtight jars, and properly dried adzuki keep 2 to 3 years.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

About 128 calories per 100 g cooked with 7.3 g fiber, 7.5 g protein, 532 mg potassium, and high levels of folate, iron, and magnesium. Adzuki is also one of the most digestible dry beans, with lower flatulence-causing oligosaccharides than navy or pinto.