So a while back, I made these anko shio pan, but what I did not talk about was how I frozen some of the leftover shio pan, and eventually tried making taiyaki out of them! Taiyaki are a Japanese fish(sea bream)-shaped waffle, usually stuffed with either red bean paste or custard most commonly. In the States, there is a chain called Somi Somi, that probably popularized taiyaki the most, since they use it as an ice cream cone and stuff them with soft serve. In this case, I wanted to take my red bean-filled shio pan dough, and cook them in a taiyaki pan, just to see what would happen. And holy crap, I wish I did that first, because the end result were these crispy taiyaki-shaped shio pan with the red bean-butter filling oozing out. I will say, the one thing I would revise is probably more red bean paste and a little less butter in these compared to what I did with the actual shio pan(which is what I did wind up doing and that’s the ONE difference between the ingredient list between this recipe and the anko shio pan one), just because cutting into these, I was a bit bummed by the amount of red bean filling, but besides that, this was a fun experiment/re-purposing of another recipe!

In case you did not read the blog post on the anko sourdough shio pan(I linked it earlier in this recipe already), this recipe is very time-consuming. Making red bean paste from scratch is a time commitment(unless you own a pressure cooker, which I do and I definitely used it here). I also mix sweetened condensed milk and miso paste into my red bean paste to season it with. The sweetened condensed milk is an homage to my childhood of eating Taiwanese shaved ice, or chua bing, which would usually be topped with condensed milk and red bean paste. The combination of the two is already nostalgic to me, being milky, creamy, rich, and sweet, all things to perfectly contrast the buttery shio pan enveloping it! And the dough, being sourdough leavened, requires even more time than a yeast-leavened dough. This dough also combines pate choux(a cooked batter used for eclairs and cream puffs) with a typical sourdough milk bread to create an enriched brioche-milk bread hybrid, just to ensure that the final crumb is neither dry nor tough. It is soft, fluffy, and buttery, all things that play off of the sweetness of the red bean paste beautifully. I will be honest in that I debated on whether or not this recipe warranted a separate post from the anko shio pan one, but because the cooking methods were different and there was a slight variation in the ratio of red bean to butter being used to fill these, I felt like that counts as almost a revisiting plus being a repurposing. So good enough for me. That and I loved how these photographed, and felt like that alone is enough of a reason for these taiyaki to be showcased separately from the shio pan!

Makes 8-16 taiyaki(depends on your mold size):
For the anko:
3oz azuki beans
25oz water
.5oz white miso paste
8oz sweetened condensed milk

Place the azuki beans and water into a pressure cooker and cook for 60 minutes. After slowly releasing the pressure, carefully remove the lid and allow the liquid to reduce on low heat until the mixture resembles peanut butter in consistency. At this point, add in the remaining ingredients and stir until the mixture thickens back to a peanut butter-like consistency. Allow the paste to fully cool before attempting to use.

For the pate choux batter:
1/2 cup milk
a pinch of salt
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
.2oz canola oil

In a pot, heat up the flour, salt, and butter, bringing everything to a boil. Once the butter is fully melted, add in the flour and stir everything on medium heat until everything mixes into a glossy ball of dough. Take the pot off heat and stir in the egg and canola oil.

For the dough:
Pate choux batter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2oz sourdough starter
2oz whole milk

In a bowl, mix together your pate choux with the flour, starter, and milk until a dough forms. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for 2 hours before allowing the dough to sit in the refrigerator for another 4 hours.

For assembly:
4 tbsp salted butter, cut into 1/2 tbsp-sized rectangles
1 egg, beaten
Maldon salt

Divide the dough into 16 pieces. Roll the dough pieces to elongated ovals. Place on one end the butter rectangle and 3 tbsp of anko and roll up the dough to form a crescent turnover shape. Place the pastries onto a parchment-lined sheet tray, spacing them 2 inches apart. Brush the tops of the dough with beaten egg, then sprinkle Maldon salt on top of the doughs. Allow the shaped pastries to rest at room temperature for another hour before placing into taiyaki molds and searing them on both sides on medium-low heat for 5 minutes per side. Store the baked pan in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to two months.