Red Bean Soup

Ingredients:-

1 cup red beans
5 cups water
1 strip dried tangerine peel or fresh orange peel
1/4 cup canned lotus seeds
1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar, as desired

PREPARATION:

Soak the red beans in water for several hours to soften them (it's easiest to soak them overnight). Drain. In a medium saucepan, bring the 5 cups of water with the tangerine peel to a boil. Turn the heat down, add the red beans and lotus seeds and simmer, partially covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the beans are softened to the point where they are just beginning to break apart.