Red bean paste

Rinse the red beans under running water and pick out broken beans.

Variation: without a pressure cooker, soak the beans overnight, then simmer on the stove two to three hours with much more water.

Put the beans in the Instant Pot with 2.5 cups water and the optional chenpi.

Seal, press the porridge button, highest pressure, 30 minutes; about an hour in total with pressurizing and depressurizing.

Check the beans crush easily; cool until lukewarm.

Blend the beans with their cooking liquid, using as little water as the blender needs and stirring with a spatula so it blends evenly.

Pour the thick, creamy puree into a non-stick pot.

Add 1/3 tsp salt, 40 g cooking oil, 120 g brown sugar and 1/2 tbsp lemon juice.

Stir about 20 minutes: first on medium or medium-high, stirring fast while it is runny to stop it erupting; then, once it starts separating from the pot, on low; until it is solid and no longer sticks to the spatula.

Store in a sealed container: up to a week in the fridge, 3 months in the freezer.