Bunny Red Bean Mochi

Mochi is a popular Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice. Soft and chewy, I just love this sweet delicacy. Nowadays, it comes in different varieties of flavour to tease your sweet palate.

Today I'm making a simple mochi with red bean paste filling. With the help of a microwave oven, this is a simple, quick and easy way to make mochi. 

I'm happy to say the result is just as good as the bought ones (or even better as they don't have the taste of artificial flavouring!) 

Red Bean Mochi 
(makes 15)

Ingredients

115g glutinous rice flour
180ml water
40g castor sugar
150g red bean paste, (rolled into 15 small balls)
corn flour, for dusting

For bunny mochi:
pink mini marshmallows
black sesame seeds


Methods

1) Place the glutinous rice flour and sugar in a microwable bowl.  Mix together till well combine.

2) Add in the water slowly and mix well with a whisk until there are no lumps .

3) Cover the bowl with cling wrap and heat it in a microwave for 2  mins. Remove  and stir with a wet spoon. Cover again and microwave for another 1 min.  Remove and stir again. The colour of the mochi should be almost translucent now. If not, return to microwave for another 30 seconds. (Length of cooking depends on the wattage of your microwave)

4) Dust your work surface generously with cornflour. Put the hot mochi on top and dust a little more cornflour on the mochi to make it easier to work.

5) Flatten the dough with a dusted roller and divide into 15 portions with a knife. (Or you may like to use a round cookie cutter to cut out as this will be easier to make into round balls later)

6) Place a red bean paste ball into each flatten portion and wrap it around. Close the gap by pinching the ends together. Roll it around with your palms to make it round.

7) To make bunny mochi, I flatten some pink mini marshmallows and cut out shapes of bunny ears. Wet the edge of the ears a little and stick them on to the mochi. Stick on the black sesame seeds for bunny eyes. (This can be a little tricky if you don't have nimble fingers!)


* Steaming Method

If you wish to use steaming method, place the bowl in a steamer and steam for about 15 mins. Half way through steaming, stir with a wet spoon and cover to continue cooking until mochi is almost translucent in colour.