Strawberry Daifuku Mochi

What Goes With It

• Matcha or sencha green tea
• A plate of seasonal fruit
• Hojicha, for something less grassy

How to Cook Strawberry Daifuku Mochi

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1. Divide the bean paste into 8 portions. Flatten each into a disc in your palm, set a strawberry point-up in the middle, and mould the paste up around it, leaving the tip exposed or fully covered as you prefer. Chill.

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2. Whisk the rice flour and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl, then whisk in the water until completely smooth.

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3. Cover with cling film and microwave on full power for 1 minute. Stir hard with a wet spatula.

   Mark done Start 1 min timer

4. Microwave 1 minute more, stir again — it will be lumpy and thick — then a final 30 to 60 seconds until the dough is translucent and uniformly sticky.

   Mark done Start 30 sec timer

5. Beat the hot dough against the side of the bowl for 60 seconds with a wet spatula until it is glossy and elastic.

   Mark done Start 60 sec timer

6. Dust a work surface heavily with potato starch, tip the dough out, dust the top, and pat it into a 20 cm square. Cut into 8 pieces.

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7. Take a piece, stretch it into a disc in your dusted palm, set a bean-wrapped strawberry point-down in the centre, and gather the mochi up over the base, pinching it closed.

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8. Set seam-side down, brush off the excess starch with a pastry brush, and serve the same day at room temperature.

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Notes From the Method

Keep your hands and tools wet while the dough is hot, and dusted with starch once it is on the bench. Swapping the two makes a terrible mess.

Shiratamako gives a noticeably better texture than generic glutinous rice flour if you can find it.

Brush the excess starch off before serving — it looks better and the mouthfeel is cleaner.

Storing and Reheating

Eat within a day. Mochi hardens in the fridge, so keep it at cool room temperature in an airtight box, and never refrigerate it if you can avoid it.

The Numbers per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.