Homemade Daifuku Mochi In 30 Minutes

Deborah Liu | Mommy School

Daifuku Mochi is a traditional Japanese sweet that is fun to make at home. It only has 5 ingredients and with modern technology, you can make it quickly in the microwave. It does require a bit of playing by ear depending on the strength of your microwave and the density of the glutinous rice flour you buy. The recipe below is for a flour with the density of Mochiko which is finely milled. This makes about 20 to 25 daifuku.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups of glutinous rice flour like Mochiko
~2 cups of water
1 cup of sugar
1 can of sweetened red bean paste
1/4 cup of corn starch for dusting
A few drops of food coloring (optional)

In a large bowl, mix the rice flower, water and sugar together with a paddle or spoon. It should be about this consistently. It should be wet, but not too soupy.

Wrap the top with plastic wrap and make sure it is tight. Microwave for 6 minutes. Take out and stir with a strong spoon. It should be really thick. If it is at all soupy when you try to stir, it is not cooked enough.

After stirring, finish off with another 6 minutes in the microwave. When it is cooked, it should be soft, but pretty solid.

On a clean surface, dust really well with corn starch. Remove the mochi from the bowl and roll out. Make sure your hands are well-starched. Roll out until the mochi is about 1/4" to 1/8" thick.

Cut the edges off and reserve for mochi candy. And create 3" wide strips and the cut into squares. Have your kids roll the red beans into balls about 1.5" wide.

Place the balls in the middle of the squares and wrap the mochi around it. Place seam side down. Take the left over edges, and cut into bites. Toss in some corn starch and then shake off the excess.