Place the azuki beans in a pot and add plenty of water (not listed in the ingredients list) *5
Heat it over high heat and bring the water to boil.
Discard the cooking water by using a strainer. *6
Place back the azuki beans in a pot and add 3 cups of water out of the 5 cups listed.
Heat the pot over high heat and once it boils, reduce the heat to low to mid and simmer for an hour.
Check occasionally and add water if necessary. *7
After 1 hour check the azuki beans are cooked or not by squishing a bean with your finger tips.
If the azuki beans are soft and cooked, add sugar and salt and stir.
Simmer furthur till the soup reduces a little and becomes thicker.
Cook mochi by using the grill function of oven or microwave. If you use oven grill, cook for 6-7 minutes, if you use microwave, cook for 1-2 minutes. Watch it does not over cook and explode.
Stir the bean paste to mix well with water, bring to simmer and add mochi.
Serve two pieces of toasted mochi with sweet azuki bean soup together in a small soup bowl. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Notes
*1 Or 200g dry azuki beans*2 You may need more or less. *3 Or 160g sugar*4 You can use store-bought mochi, or homemade. If you are going to make one, see my how to make mochi post. *5 I add 2 cups of water. *6 This step is for removing the astringent taste. *7 I added 1 cup at a time twice and used all 5 cups. *8 For shortcut, if you can access and use a packet of ready-cooked azuki beans, Put 1 cup (200g) cooked azuki beans, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups of water and bring to boil, turn the heat down to simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with toasted mochi or shiratama dango.