I learned about Hansen's disease (leprosy) and the commune of a different kind of untouchable people. As details of their past emerged, the story takes on a darker tone as social discrimination, irrational fears, unfair treatment are revealed. Both Sentaro and Tokue have a past of which they are both ashamed, and the past has a way of catching up with the present. Sweetness, however, is not all there is to this story. Soon, more and more bean paste has to be made and Sentaro hangs, for the first time, a ‘Sold Out’ sign on his shop. A mellow, sweet taste unfurled inside Sentaro’s mouth.” The new dorayaki is so delicious that a bunch of typically noisy school girls ate in hallowed silence. “Unlike the ready-made paste, this was the smell of fresh, living beans. I waited with anticipation for the first taste of the pancakes with the newly and freshly made bean paste.
“Bean paste is all about feeling” and “bean paste is the soul of dorayaki.” Like an offering to the gods, the bean paste has to be prepared before the sun is up. For Sentaro who uses ready-made wholesale beans from a tub, there is wonderment in learning that the best bean paste is 'heart-fully' made. I loved how the process of preparing the sweet bean paste takes on a reverential and near spiritual quality. It was delightful to observe how Sentaro’s initial reluctance to hire Tokue gives way to trust and respect for her confectionary skills.
Sweet Bean Paste tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Sentaro Tsujii, an aspiring writer in his forties who rents a Doraharu shop to make pancakes to pay off his debt, and Tokue Yoshii, an elderly lady with gnarled fingers and a partially paralyzed face, who becomes his shop assistant.
The dorayaki consists of two small pancake-like patties wrapped around a filling of sweet Azuki red bean paste. It was in this mood that I was introduced to a Japanese pancake called dorayaki and the culinary secret to making the perfect filling for it. It had the effect of suggesting that a bowl of steaming red bean soup would be cheery on a rainy day.
I was content to be indoors and to snuggle up with a new book that had a tantalizing title - Sweet Bean Paste.
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