When I made this, I didn't have gloves (no, not the gloves you wear in winter...and no, not the washing up gloves, leave them for after making the mochi when you clear up, I meant the disposable gloves that you can get from the supermarket that are suitable to use to shape the mochi), instead of using gloves, I used cling film, it didn't do the best job but was better than nothing. If you're for some reason not bothered or don't want to get the gloves, then don't worry :) Just use cling film like I did :)
For this recipe, I used two different kinds of red bean, one is red bean paste, and the other one has some red bean bits in it which is less paste-like and more of something you can chew
.
I got this can from my this Chinese Store in London China Town, if you're lucky you may have an Oriental or Asian store near you to get it. If you go China Town in London, you can get this from See Woo or Lung Fung Supermarket. There are also other Asian supermarkets in London like Wing Yip Store. The brand for this red bean is Ma Ling (梅林牌紅豆沙). I would rate it 8 out of 10. If you have any left overs, just pop it in the freezer and use it next time or use it in another recipe. I bought it in See Woo and it cost around £1.25 - £1.50. No more than £2.
My mum bought this once to decorate a birthday cake, that's when I knew about this. I love this red bean because the red bean is very soft and there's this little red bean sauce which makes it even more yummy. This tastes sweeter than the red bean paste and has more texture. I got this from Japan Centre near Piccadilly Circus in London for £1.85. However, the down side to this is that the wet-ness in this makes it a bit harder to close the mochi mouth when it is wet.
Try something new:
I wanted to try something new for this recipe, so then I added some Pandan essence to a section of the mochi, mixed and added with the Japanese red bean filling which was yummy scrummy. As well as this, you could try mixing some Green tea powder/ Matcha powder to the glutinous rice flour so have a green tea mochi and have red bean filling as they go really well together.
In conclusion, just be creative and fill the filling with little things you like (something not too extreme tho...) I've tried mango before and mmmmmm that was yummy yummy because the diced mango kind of merged together and came to one piece, but there's always some anomalies, some just keep a distance from each other.
Top tip:
Before making something, read through the recipe and try to visualise the process of yourself making it because when it comes to actually making it, its easier as you have a basic idea of how YOU are going to make it and how the RECIPE says how to make it.
Before making something, read through the recipe and try to visualise the process of yourself making it because when it comes to actually making it, its easier as you have a basic idea of how YOU are going to make it and how the RECIPE says how to make it.
Note: I had two cans of red bean because I had to finish the old one as it only had a but left and I had to finish it before I started to use the new one.
Red Bean Mochi Balls 紅豆糯米糍食譜
This makes about 20-28 mochi balls, depends on the size you're making.
Ingredients:
- 200g glutinous rice flour
- 150g sugar
- 250ml coconut cream (coconut cream makes it smell nice and taste a bit sweeter than coconut milk) or 165ml coconut milk
- 165ml water
- Can of red bean paste.
- Some extra glutinous rice flour or shredded coconut
Method:
1. Prepare the ingredients.
2. Turn on the cooker to medium heat and pour the water and sugar into the pot and boil till the sugar melts. (Don't forget to mix it a bit so the sugar doesn't go dark and burn.) Then pour in the coconut milk/coconut cream and cook until it boils.
3. Pour the flour into a mixing bowl.
4. Pour the boiled liquid (water + melted sugar + coconut cream/coconut milk) into the mixing bowl with the flour.
5. Mix the liquid and flour fairly fast until it becomes a dough-like texture. If you don't mix it fairly fast, the liquid and the flour won't combine as well.
6. Grease a STAINLESS STEEL plate with 1 or 2 drops of oil and then place the dough into the plate. If you don't have a stainless steel plate, use a plate that you can use to steam with, but if you have a stainless steel plate, I would recommend you to use it.
7. After placing the dough onto the plate, spread it across the plate and make it even.
8. Prepare a steamer, or pot if you don't have a steamer. Steam for about 20 minutes on high heat. Check if it is ready by poking it with a wooden skewer or chopstick. If it sticks onto your chopstick then it should be done. If you are still not sure, pick a piece and try it and see if it is a bit dry when you are eating it but with a bit of moisture as well. If you think it is not ready, steam it for another few minutes.
 |
| My little tool to lift the plate from the steamer :) |
 |
| If there is any excess oil (the transparent liquid at the edge of the plate), just tip it into the sink to drain it |
9. Prepare a bowl or pot with ice. Then put the cooked dough with the plate on top of the ice. This cools the dough down and makes it easier to work with later.
10. Pour some glutinous rice flour or shredded coconut into a bowl or plate.
11. Wear disposable plastic gloves, or use cling film if you don't have any. Tear or cut a small piece of dough and flatten it. Put some red bean on the centre of the flattened dough and wrap it. Try not to let the sauce of the red bean touch the side of the dough, if not it would be hard to stick. If this does happen, simply pinch a bit of the ends on each side and twist it then stick back onto the dough.
12. Put the mochi into a pool of shredded coconut, cover the mochi with shredded coconut.
If you don't like shredded coconut, just heat up some glutinous flour in the microwave for 1 minute and cover the mochi with the flour.
Some people prefer to eat it cold, if you do, then place the mochis in the fridge for 1-2 hours. You can also have it in room temperature.
- It is much easier to work with the mochi when it is cold as it less sticky
- Place individual mochis in a cupcake case for a better presentation
- Use disposable gloves if you have any
Tell me how it goes and/or if you have any problems by commenting below, I would love to know how it goes :)
Good luck and have fun making! :)
Jollycat xx
