RED BEAN PASTE BALLS HOW TO
RED BEAN PASTE BALLS SKIN

The tender young leaves that sprout in May are hand-pickled, blanched in hot water, then pickled in salt water for a few days. They are completely edible and the aroma and flavor of the salt-pickled cherry blossom leaves contribute to the final dish. The salt-pickled cherry blossom leaves are essential to make sakura mochi and are not used for wrapping the mochi or for decoration purposes. What Are Salt-Pickled Cherry Blossom Leaves? Wrap the glutinous rice balls with cherry blossom leaves, and top with cherry blossom flowers.Stuff the rice balls with sweet red bean paste and shape them into a cylinder shape.Partially mash the cooked rice and divide it into 8 balls.Cook the glutinous rice just like regular steamed rice.Rinse the glutinous rice, measure the water, and mix in sugar and red coloring.Salt-pickled cherry blossoms (optional) – for decoration.Salt-pickled cherry blossom leaves – Please read this ingredient below.You can use chunky “ tsubuan” but koshian is typically used for sakura mochi. Sweet red bean paste (anko) – Get “ koshian“-the smooth kind.Red food coloring – I use powder kind, but you can use gel.Short-grain glutinous rice – Please make sure it’s Japanese short-grain glutinous rice or mochigome, NOT the long-grain type other Asian cuisines use.Instead of using domyojiko (the coarse glutinous rice flour), we’ll use mochigome (Japanese short-grain glutinous rice), which is much easier to get outside of Japan. In this recipe, we make Kansai-style sakura mochi. Now you know that there are two types of sakura mochi. Even though it’s called “flour”, the grains are just slightly smaller than regular short-grain glutinous rice and they are visible. In the Kansai region, people use domyojiko (道明寺粉), which is made of glutinous rice that has been steamed, dried and coarsely ground. The presentation looks more like a tiny rolled-up pink pancake that reveals sweet red bean paste in the middle. People in the Kanto region use shiratamako (白玉粉)-a type of glutinous rice flour-as the main ingredient for the mochi. You can find two styles of sakura mochi in Japan: Kanto (Tokyo)-style and Kansai (Osaka and Kyoto)-style. Soft yet chewy, the flavor of the mochi balances beautifully between sweet and salty while bringing forth the fragrant note of cherry blossom. This delicate pink-blushed mochi is a signature treat for Girls’ Day (known as Hinamatsuri) on March 3rd, but we also enjoy it throughout the spring season in Japan. Sakura means cherry blossoms in Japanese and both the flowers and leaves are used in Japanese confectionery and savory cooking. It typically comes in an ellipsoid shape and blanketed by a salt-pickled sakura leaf.

Sakura mochi (桜餅) is a type of wagashi (Japanese confectionery) made of light pink colored glutinous rice with sweet red bean paste filling.

What Are Salt-Pickled Cherry Blossom Leaves?.

Most store bought pastes have good flavor but they are usually very sweet. Texture wise, it is very smooth and glossy. Store bought pastes often have additional ingredients such as food coloring, oil, lotus seed, mung beans, lentils, and flour to bulk it up.

RED BEAN PASTE BALLS SKIN

The texture is usually coarser unless a food mill is used to separate the skin from the flesh during mashing. The color is that of the red beans and opaque. Most home cooks will use only red beans, desired amount of sugar, and sometimes a little oil. The good thing about making your own Red Bean Paste is that you can control the ingredients that go into it. The ingredients used and method of cooking are the same but Red Bean Paste requires additional steps to make it into a paste suitable as a filling for pastries and steamed buns. For that reason, I prefer to call the more moist and liquid version Sweet Red Bean Mash to differentiate the two. When I think of a paste, I think of a finely mashed, pretty solid kind of ingredient without any sauce.

RED BEAN PASTE BALLS HOW TO

So excited to tell you that I have also produced a video of the process with tips on how to make it specifically more suitable as a filling for mooncakes. Hence, I have had many request for a homemade version of this tasty ingredient. Other kinds of desserts using Red Bean Paste include Jian Dui (Sesame Balls), Tau Sar Bao (Steamed Red Bean Buns, and Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Balls in Syrup), to name a few. It is used in many pastries like Mooncakes and Shanghai Pancakes. Red Bean Paste is one of the most popular ingredient in Chinese desserts. Also tips on making it more suitable as a filling for mooncakes. A video tutorial on How to Make Red Bean Paste used in Asian pastries and desserts.

Red bean paste balls