Recipe: Mochi with Red Bean Paste
8 Jul
Mochi is a popular Japanese rice cake with a chewy, elastic texture. While mochi is delicious by itself, it is often filled with sweet additions, such as ice cream or red bean paste. Traditionally, the rice flour mixture was beaten in a mortar for a long time to get the right consistency. But luckily, I didn’t have to spend hours beating on it.
I grew up eating the red bean paste filled mochi, and this recipe reminded me a lot of my late grandmother. Mochi was one of her favorite things to eat, so we’d always pick some up whenever we saw it at the store. We miss you, grandma!
Last week, I tweeted about wanting to try making mochi at home. I got offers to help me beat on it, which was funny. But then, a short conversation about mochi ice cream led to a friend giving away his ice cream maker to me. Score!
After reading a bunch of recipes on how to make mochi, I experimented and came up with what I think, is a solid recipe. A word of warning – the dough is SUPER sticky, so I found it annoying to wash all the utensils and dishes. But it was well worth the trouble, I promise.
Recipe: Mochi with Red Bean Paste
Makes 15 pieces
Though I used canned red beans (by accident), I would recommend using red bean paste instead. If you’re using food coloring, it’s much easier to combine the food coloring before the entire dough is done.
Ingredients:
2 cups of glutinous rice flour (or sweet rice flour like Mochiko brand)
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of lukewarm water
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 can of red bean paste
2 cups of corn starch or tapioca starch
Food coloring (optional)
Rubber spatula (optional)
Procedure:
1. In a microwave safe bowl, combine rice flour, sugar, water and salt. Mix well until there are no lumps. Cover with plastic wrap. Microwave on high heat for 2 minutes.
2. Remove bowl from the microwave. Carefully remove lid. Divide the dough into separate bowls, depending on how many colors you want to make. Add a tiny droplet of food coloring to each bowl and stir for 30 seconds. Cover again and microwave each bowl on high heat again for another 2 minutes. You will know that the dough is ready when the amount has increased in volume.
3. Roll up the red bean paste into small circles for each transfer later.
4. Dust working surface and hands with starch. Remove dough from the bowl to the surface. With hands covered in starch, divide dough into even pieces. Roll each piece into a circle, then flatten on the palm of your hand.
5. Place one red bean paste ball in the middle of the dough. Pinch it closed. Roll into a ball and lightly dust with starch. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
