Daifuku (Mochi with red bean filling)
Mochi are japanese sweets with an unusual chewy texture. They’re made from glutinous rice flour and can be made with different fillings.
This version is filled with anko, a sweet paste made with azuki beans. You can follow my basic anko recipe, but for mochi I suggest doubling the sugar, and mashing the beans to a fine paste, or better still using a food processor or hand blender to get it really smooth. For the quantity of mochi below, you will need roughly 1/4 of the anko recipe.
You can find mochiko (glutinous rice flour) and katakuriko (potato starch) at most asian supermarkets. I usually go to Japan Centre, or Rice Wine (japanese only on their website…), in central London. You could replace katakuriko with corn flour.
If you don’t feel confident making very small things, instead of stuffing the mochi, you could make small balls of anko (about a teaspoon for each one), and put them in the freezer until almost frozen, then wrap the mochi dough around the anko.
If you don’t work fast, or the room is hot, it’s a good idea to cover the dough that you’re not using so it doesn’t get dry.
They are best eaten on the day you make them.
- 210g mochiko
- 105ml water
- 80g anko
- katakuriko or corn flour for dusting
- Mix the rice flour and water in a bowl, using your hand, until it starts to form a mass. At this point squeeze the mixture together to form a ball.
- Cut the dough into 16 pieces.
- Create a hole in each piece and stuff with a teaspoonful of anko.
- Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop in the mochi. Gently move them around so they do not stick to the bottom.
- When the mochi start to float around the pan and come to the surface, cook for a further 2 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and place in a bowl of cold water. You may need to change the water several times to keep it cold.
- Allow the mochi to dry slightly, then dust lightly with flour.
- Allow mochi to rest for one hour. As they chill they will set and become more solid.
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