As promised on my previous sakuramochi post, here’s the Kansai version of sakura mochi! If you don’t know what sakuramochi is or what it’s about, go to the sakuramochi -kanto (tokyo) style post, and get caught up on the deliciousness! Instead of using glutinous rice flour, this recipe uses glutinous rice to encase the red bean paste.
The key to making perfect Kansai sakura mochi is to gently crush the rice when it’s cooked, to create a chewier mochi texture. Even though sakura mochi is typically pink, I didn’t end up adding food colouring in it last time so I figured I would do it this time to give them the elegant look of cherry blossoms. Oh and this is technically a two in one recipe because you can use this to make Ohagi (glutinous rice covered with red bean paste) too! All you have to do is reverse the recipe and wrap the red bean paste around a ball of glutinous rice! Pretty awesome huh?
Ingredients (makes 8):
3/4 cup glutinous rice
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 to 1 cup water
1/2 cup red bean paste
few drops red food colouring
8 sakura leaves (optional)
Cooking time!
1. Wash the rinse the rice until it’s clean. Prepare the rice using a rice cooker or sauce pan by placing the rice in the pot and add in 3/4 cup water inside along with the sugar and a couple drops of red food colouring. If your water ends up cooking out, add in 1/4 cup more to prevent it from burning.
2. When the rice is ready, lightly mash it with a rolling pin or rice scoop. Then, spread the rice out on a baking sheet and divide it into 8 equal portions. Let cool for 5 minutes.
3. Place a portion of the rice mixture on top of a piece of plastic wrap and flatten it out. Add a tablespoon of the red bean paste in the center.
4. Wrap the rice around it with the help of the plastic wrap. If you’re using sakura leaf, wrap that around the completed glutinous rice ball.
