Happy New Year’s Day my friends!
Here’s to hoping 2021 will behave and allow us to go back and do what we used to do – enjoy life with people that matter, get together with family, eat together, and travel all over collecting memories to cherish forever.
Back to food…and ELB…today I will show you how to make one of my favorite sweets in the ELB.
Daifukumochi or daifuku (literally “great luck”), is a Japanese sweet made from sweet rice flour. It is formed into a round mochi then stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans and sugar. Daifuku is a popular wagashi in Japan, and often served with green tea.
I made this in the ELB since mochi is traditionally served for New Year in Japan. The actual mochi for New Year’s is a block of pounded sweet rice, which cannot be made in the ELB. I do have a mochi maker, it cooks the soaked rice and pounds it perfectly so you don’t have to. All I do is pat it into a rectangle and slice. Then eat, of course! 😊
This sweet mochi is served all year round as a snack. I love eating it and I can finish a package of 6 in one sitting. It’s that good! Or bad….
You can also wrap a clean, dry, fresh strawberry with the red bean paste before wrapping in the mochi. That is a real treat specially if the strawberry is ripe and sweet.
I hope you enjoy this little Japanese dessert/snack! I tried to make it real easy using readily available ingredients. 😊
*NOTE that this recipe uses regular sized measuring cups, NOT the tiny ELB cup, unless specified.*
Follow me for more recipes for the ELB!
See Itaki’s offerings here! https://www.itakico.com/theresa
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/At-Home-With-Theresa-100255438410727/
Ingredients:
1/2 cup mochiko rice flour
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch salt
1/2 cup water
Katakuriko (Potato starch), for dusting
1/4 cup red bean paste
3 ELB cups water for the base
Procedure:
1. Place the rice flour in the large ELB bowl.
2. Add the sugar and salt next.
3. Pour in water.
4. Slowly stir the mixture.
5. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and well blended.
6. Cover the bowl with foil and place the bowl in the ELB base. Pour 3 ELB cups of water in the base, cover and let steam until done, about 1 hour.
7. In the meantime, pour some katakuriko (potato starch) in a plate and set aside.
8. Roll up a tablespoon or so of red bean paste into balls. Make 4 of these. Set aside.
9. When the ELB shuts off, carefully open it and drain any liquid on top of the mochi.
10. While hot, divide the mochi into 4 pieces using a butter knife. D
11. Dust your fingers with katakuriko.
12. Working quickly, while the mixture is hot, scrape 1 portion of the mochi into your hands and stretch it out a little.
13. Place 1 red bean paste ball in the middle and pull edges over, pinching to seal. Roll into a ball, dusting with katakuriko as needed.
*I was rushing to leave when I made this so apologies for the irregular shapes. It took me less than 5 minutes from the time I took the mochi from the ELB to taking this final photo. I might re do the photo when I get another chance to make these leisurely *
14. Give the mochi one final roll in the katakuriko, place on a serving dish, and devour!