Red bean paste or red bean jam, also called adzuki bean paste or anko, is a paste made of red beans, used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans, then mashing or grinding them. At this stage, the paste can be sweetened or left as it is. The color of the paste is usually dark red, which comes from the husk of the beans. In Korean cuisine, the adzuki beans can also be husked prior to cooking, resulting in a white paste. It is also possible to remove the husk by sieving after cooking, but before sweetening, resulting in a red paste that is smoother and more homogeneous.

Vigna angularis, also known as the adzuki bean (Japanese: 小豆 , azuki, Uncommon アヅキ, adzuki), azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small bean. The cultivars most familiar in East Asia have a uniform red color, but there are also white, black, gray, and variously mottled varieties.