Matcha Daifuku Mochi - Sliced Ginger

Ingredients

Matcha Bean Filling

1/2 cup dried navy beans
3 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1-2 tablespoons water, as needed
2 teaspoons high quality matcha powder, sifted

Mochi Dough

1 cup shiratamako or mochiko flour*
1 cup water
3 tablespoons white sugar*
about 1/2 cup potato starch or cornstarch for dusting, sifted

optional garnish

edible flowers or matcha powder to dust on top

Instructions

Matcha Bean Filling

Place the dried navy beans in a bowl and generously cover with water. Soak for 6 hours or overnight.
Drain the beans. Rinse with cold water and rub the beans between your fingers. Some of the skins will separate. Discard what skins come off.
Place the beans in a medium sized pot and cover with at least 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes on high, skimming off the foam. Turn the heat down to medium low and partially cover with a lid. The water should be lightly bubbling. Cook for 35-45 minutes until the beans are tender.
Drain the beans. While they're still warm place them into a food processor with the sugar. Process until they are smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides as needed. If the mixture is too thick add 1-2 tablespoons of water. Sift the matcha powder into the mixture and pulse until incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and place in the fridge until cool, about 20-30 minutes.
Once the mixture has cooled, roll into 9 balls and set aside.

Mochi Dough

Since mochi must be worked with quickly once cooked, be sure to prep your work area before starting. To do this generously cover your work surface with sifted potato starch and have a small bowl of extra potato starch handy. Have a rolling pin, pastry brush, muffin liners, a 3.5 inch circle cookie cutter and the matcha filling handy.
Fill your steamer with water and bring to a boil. Turn down to low. Wrap the steamer lid with a dish towel to prevent condensation. In a small heat proof bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and water. Place the bowl into the steamer. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Carefully open the steamer and stir the mixture with a wet spatula. Place the lid back on and steam for another 10 minutes. It's done when the dough is translucent and very sticky.
Using a wet spatula scoop the mixture onto the floured surface. Dust more potato starch to the top of the dough and on the rolling pin. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Don't be afraid to add more potato starch if the dough starts to get sticky.
Using the cookie cutter cut out as many circles as you can. Lightly dust your hands with potato starch. Gently pick up one circle of dough and place into your palm. Use the pastry brush to dust off excess potato starch. Place the bean filling in the middle and fold the sides into the middle, pinching them so they stick. Gently roll the ball in your palms to smooth out. Place the mochi pinched side down into a muffin cup and repeat.
Form the leftover dough into a ball and add more potato starch if too sticky. Roll the dough out a second time and cut out the remaining circles. You should be able to get 9 in total.
Mochi is best eaten the same day at room temperature. If kept overnight wrap each mochi individually and store in a seal container in the fridge. Mochi tends to lose its soft and chewy texture when kept overnight.

Notes

*Shiratamako flour is preferred but it can be hard to find. Mochiko is a great substitute that is more affordable and widely available online and at Asian grocery stores.

*I've always found daifuku mochi to be too sweet so for this recipe I've cut the sugar down from the filling and the dough. Because of this, the mochi texture is a bit firmer and the bean mixture is not as thin and glossy as traditional daifuku mochi.

*For the mochi dough I use white sugar to keep the dough a white colour. It can be substituted for organic sugar cane or coconut sugar but it will make the colour of the dough darker.

*If you don't have the right size cookie cutter you can roll the mochi dough into a large rectangle and cut it into even pieces (they don't have to be circles). The method of using cookie cutters is from Just One Cookbook. It's a great way to keep the mochi consistent.

*The yield of this recipe depends on the size of the mochi. I make them quite large and made 9. If you make smaller ones you could get up to 12.

Nutrition