Strawberry Daifuku Recipes

I love mochi especially the sweet stuffed kind known as daifuku. It’s a Japanese dessert that looks like a ball made out of glutinous rice flour. This dessert kind of reminds me of a Malaysian kueh that fills with ground peanuts and sugar that we can buy from the kueh seller. I am not sure what it's called but we used to call it 'powder kueh' or 'Chee Pah' as your face, hand and clothing will be full of white powder when you eat it. When Diana’s was in Japan I told her she doesn’t have to bring anything home for me except for some Mochi and she did. I get to eat it all by myself.

I was at Annie’s blog the other day and saw a beautiful picture of Daifuku and I was craving for it. Since I have some leftovers red bean paste in the fridge I decided to make some for myself. Actually it’s not that difficult to make. My daifuku didn't turn out perfect but nevertheless they were delicious and chewy. The sweetness of the red bean paste goes really well with the tangy fresh strawberry.

Ingredients :

1 cup glutinious rice flour
2 tbsp of sugar
2/3 cup water
Some cornstarch (for dusting)
some store bought red bean paste
6 - 7 small strawberries - cut the steam away

1. With wet hands, take a small amount of red bean paste, press it into a thin disk and wrap it around a strawberry. Repeat with remaining berries and set aside.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, mix together glutinious rice flour, sugar and water. Mix well.
3. Microwave the mixture on high for two minutes. Remove and stir quickly. Return to the microwave and cook for another 2 minutes. The dough will bubble up and inflate, but be careful not to overcook or the dough will be too tough.
4. Divide dough into 6-7 equal portion by use a tablespoon. Make sure the plate or counter top are dust with cornstarch as the dough is very sticky.
5. Dust your fingers and palms with cornstarch and flatten a piece of dough (it will be quite hot so be careful) and put in the filling, then wrap dough up and seal the opening with a tight pinch. Repeat until all dough is used up. Chill the mochis before serving.

Note : You can add different flavor and coloring to the mochi dough. Just add the flavor and color into the mixture before you microwave it.