Sunday, June 14, 2009

Strawberry Daifuku

Okay, so i take back what i said in my last post... here's the second strawberry recipe of the season: Strawberry Daifuku! I was on youtube the other day and came across a video for this beautiful mochi dessert and i just couldn't resist. This recipe is pretty easy to make although i did have some problems with the mochi. I'm guessing my glutinous rice flour wasn't the same as the one used in the video because instead of getting a watery mixture, mine just clumped up into a ball of dough. Hmmm... i steamed it anyway and i guess the mochi turned out... alright. It wasn't as elastic as i hoped it would be... but ah well, nothing's perfect XD. The mochi was also pretty hard to handle; i had to dust 2 layers of potato starch on my hands for every daifuku i made, sheesh. So in summary, the red bean paste could've been a bit more moist and the mochi could've been a bit more chewy... but other than that, this is a great dessert that i highly recommend for my fellow bakers. Enjoy!

Strawberry Daifuku
from cookingwithdog and geekchef
INGREDIENTS:
  • AZUKI BEAN PASTE:
  • 400g azuki beans, soaked overnight
  • 3/4 cups of sugar (or more, according to taste)
  • 1 tablespoon honey (or more, according to taste)
  • 1 pinch salt

  • STRAWBERRY DAIFUKU:
  • 9 fresh strawberries (cut off the stems, wash, and pat dry)
  • azuki bean paste
  • 1 cup glutinous rice flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar (or more, according to taste)
  • 1 cup water
  • Potato starch for dusting
DIRECTIONS:

  1. Wash and drain the azuki beans that were soaked overnight [picture 1].
  2. Place the beans into a pot and pour enough water to cover the beans. Steam the beans for an hour or more until soft [picture 2]. Most of the water should be absorbed by the time the beans are done (drain the beans if there's still a lot of water left).
  3. Add in sugar, honey, and salt [picture 3]. Mix well.
  4. Transfer the beans into a food processor[picture 4]. Blend to the consistency of your choice (chunky/mashed).
  5. Scoop out the mashed beans into a saucepan and set it over low heat. Stir frequently in order to evaporate the excess water [picture 5]. [This step may be excluded if your beans have already reached the right consistency].
  6. Once the azuki bean paste have cooled, take about 1 - 2 tablespoons of paste and shape them into balls. Flatten the paste with your palm, place the strawberry in the center, and push the paste up towards the top. Make sure to cover all sides of the strawberry [picture 6]. Repeat for all 9 strawberries. Cover with a plastic wrap to keep them moist.
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  7. In a non-stick pot, mix together the sugar and glutinous rice flour [picture 7].
  8. Gradually add in the water and mix until there are no lumps [mine formed into a ball of dough] [picture 8].
  9. Place the non-stick pot into a steamer and steam for 15 minutes.
  10. Remove the pot from the steamer and with a spatula, stir the mochi until even [picture 9].
  11. Transfer the mochi onto a baking sheet that has been generously dusted with potato starch. Take some more potato starch and dust over the mochi. Break the mochi into 9 pieces.
  12. With your hands, shape the mochi into a flat circle. Place the azuki-coated strawberries in the center and spread the mochi up and wrap it [picture 10]. Remember to dust your hands with potato starch frequently since mochi is extremely sticky.
  13. You'll have to work quickly while the mochi is hot or else it will not stretch far enough to wrap the strawberries.

Strawberry Daifuku

12 comments:

  1. I love the cookingwithdog videos on youtube. They're very entertaining.

    The brand might not have been the issue. Most Japanese mochi recipes use "Mochiko" but I've used Thai and it worked fine... But I've found microwaving mochi to cook it, as opposed to steaming it, makes a difference in texture. It's more elastic and chewier. Plus, it takes less time and it's easier. I hope you'll try that the next time! :)

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  2. Thanks for the tip, lee. I'll try microwaving next time, hopefully it'll get me better results. btw, did your mochi turn also into a ball of dough when you used thai rice flour?

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  3. Cool! I've never worked with mochi OR azuki beans. This looks a litte intimidating, but I'm intrigued... Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Thanks valerie, working with the mochi can be quite tricky at first but you'll get the hang of it. HOpe you can try it out sometime :D

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  5. ive always wanted to try to make my own mochi! esp the ones with ice cream fillings inside. yumm..

    have u tried making the mochi cake?

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  6. oo mochi with icecream? i've never had those before! lemme know if you make it, i'd like to know how its done XD

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  7. Ive havent actally tried making it =P
    but in US, they sell it in supermarkets. they are round just like regular mochi. but thicker, it has thin layers of mochi ( just like your daifuku) and inside its filled with small scoop of ice cream ( im guessing about 3tbs)

    http://www.ehow.com/how_2041584_mochi-ice-cream.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

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  8. I love chewy daifuku and the strawberries make this so summery!! : )

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  9. feifeian wants daifuku toooooooooo....looks yummy...being wanting to tell u that, didn't occur to me that i should leave a message until now >.< muahahaha

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  10. I thought it was an excellent blog, that information has been very helpful in my life, I am a strawberries lover, so I really enjoyed this reading, the strawberries taste is so delicious! Thanks for this great moment!

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  11. Saw these on Pinterest. They sound so good! I am a new follower! Patsy

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