Daifuku (Mochi with Sweet Adzuki Bean Paste)

Shape the anko paste into 1-inch piece balls. Place onto a plate and cover with plastic to prevent it from drying.

To start your mise en place, prepare the following: a large cutting board or a sheet pan, a strainer with bowl underneath (for the rice flour or cornstarch), a pastry brush, a large knife or pastry scraper, plate dusted with flour/starch and a silicone spatula.

Dust your cutting board or sheet pan with flour/starch (through the strainer) before starting.

To prepare the mochi mixture, combine the flour and sugar in a heatproof glass bowl. Stir to combine. Then add the water slowly and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon and stir until the rice flour has dissolved. Cover the bowl with saran wrap.

To cook the mochi mixture, place the bowl in the microwave oven and cook for 2 minutes on high. Then, with a wet silicone spatula, stir the dough and put it back in the microwave oven for another 2 minutes until the mixture is very thick and translucent.

Some people cook the dough up to 6 minutes. But that depends on your microwave oven.

To steam the dough, place the bowl in a prepared steamer and cover with cloth. Steam the mixture for about 12-15 minutes, stirring once or twice until the dough is thick and translucent.

When the mochi is ready, scoop out the dough with wet silicone spatula onto the floured surface. You can also use two wet large spoons to transfer it.

Then, dust the mochi mixture with more rice flour. With two floured hands, flatten the dough into a rectangular shape. Be careful the dough is hot. You can also use rolling pin. Then cut the dough with a pastry scraper into 10 equal pieces.

To make the daifuku, grab a piece of dough and stretch the sides. Brush off the excess flour from the dough using a pastry brush. Then place one ball of adzuki ball, gather the dough and press together to seal.

Place the daifuku seam side down on a plate dusted with flour/starch. Repeat with the rest of the daifuku. The dough will become less flexible as it cools down.

Serve daifuku with Japanese green tea such as sencha, genmaicha or gyokuro.