Thursday, September 18, 2008

Strawberry Daifuku

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.

21 comments:

VG said...

Manyak cantik lah Gert. I can't remember the last time I had this and definately not with strawberries. Post me some?

Beachlover said...

gert,I didn't know mochi is really easy to make!! I have some strawberry and red bean.I should try your recipe! thanks for sharing!

Charmaine said...

I absolutely LOVE Daifuku!. Must always have it when available at the local sushi train restaurant. Thanks for the recipe.

Babe_KL said...

so beautiful... sigh but my boiboi doesnt like fresh strawberries but he adores mochi

Christelle said...

Oh yes the glutinous rice balls filled with peanuts, a favorite of mine too!! only thing is I'm the only one who likes them here, my friends think it's weird!! I love Glutinous rice/paste in anycase :)))

Nate @ House of Annie said...

Hey, you did a great job! I am impressed.

Finla said...

When i saw the first pic i was thinking that a strawberry then i read the recipe and saw the other picture.
I have never had them. Would love to taste it.
Hey and had lots of fun in India

Cat Cat said...

gert,
That looks so good man... I usually buy daifuku in Oriental store and they are pretty expensive too..

Anonymous said...

Gert, it looks so yummy coz I love any kind of food using glutinous floor! Can imagine how it taste..Never try any mochi...! I think I have to try out this one! Hope my family will like it! Thanx for sharing.. :D

MamaElla said...

Wow..look so yummy..!

vanillasugarblog said...

I've seen these on TV. I always thought they were so labor intensive, but apparently not.
I also didn't know they were sweet inside; I thought they were salty or meat inside.
I would love to try and create the peanuts & sugar one? Is that right? Ohhh man that does sound good.

Tastes of Home said...

hi there! wanted to drop by to say hello, I know what kueh ur talking about hehe..my family calls it Lo Mai Chi (Glutinous rice flour Chi) hehe...my brother loves to stuff the whole thing in his mouth..

your mochi looks sooo good!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Yummy! I love this too!

PG CakeCraft said...

Hi Gert, just visited ur wonderful blog. Nice mochi, looks very tempting.

ICook4Fun said...

Vg, thank you. Not sure if it will be good by the time it reach you :)

Lesley, yes its that simple. But I find the store bought bean paste here sooo sweet. I am going to make some red bean paste today :)

Charming, you are welcome.

Babe_KL, you can put other filling in it minus the strawberry.

Christelle, I too love the one with peanuts. My husband too find it weird especially the texture :)

Nate & Annie, thank you :)

Happy cook, glad you had fun in India. You should give this dessert a try. You might like it :)

Cat, me too. I always buy it from the oriental store. Have to pay $1.10 each but they do taste good though :)

Ummi, let me know how yours turn out :)

Mamaella, thanks for stopping by.

Dawn, you should try this out especially the one with peanuts and sugar. Just roast the peanuts, blend it and mix it with some sugar and wrap it up.

Taste of Home, thanks for dropping by. Yeah, some calls it Lo Mai Chee :)

LCOM, you like this too :)

Sweetbites, thanks for stopping by and you kind comment :)

Food For Tots said...

Hi, What a lovely & creative combination! Unfortunately I dun have any microwave or oven now.:( Anyway will keep it for future reference. Tks.

yosunbuka said...

hi
this is very different..
I like ..
may I eat one of them:)

NorthBorneoGirl said...

my little girl love chee pah very much! .. but not so much mochi especially the one with bean paste :( i wonder if making chee pah is the same as making mochi ?? .. would make my little girl very happy! .. hehehe .. thanks for sharing the mochi recipe tho' ..

ICook4Fun said...

food for tots, you really should get an oven and microwave. You can make a lot of great food with it.

Yosunbuka, sure you can have 2 or 3 :)

Envy, I will post a recipe of chee pah soon. By the way you can use this dough but put the kacang and sugar filling in it. Its very similar :)

Anonymous said...

yum. i am eating one as i read this post.

PrimoChic.com said...

oh. i really really LOVE daifuku. always bought it at convenient store when i was in japan. i never know it's so easy to make by ourselves. will try this out.
by the way, what they called "glutinious rice flour" in bahasa malaysia? thanks. :)