Kusa Mochi Recipe (Japanese Mugwort flavored mochi with sweet red bean filling)

Mochi, a delicious whole grain food, is made from a glutinous, high-protein variety of rice called glutinous rice. The glutinous rice is soaked, steamed, and pounded; then it is allowed to dry until it is firm enough to slice. Mugwort is traditionally pounded with glutinous rice to make this unique forest-green spring fragrant Mochi.

Kusa Mochi • Ingredients  ( Makes 8 )

• 80 g Fresh Mugwort Leaf ( You can also use Japanese Yomogi Powder ) Homemade Mugwort Powder Click Here

• 100 g Glutinous Rice Flour
• 20 g Raw Demerara Cane Sugar
• 20 g Maltose
• Cooked Glutinous Rice Flour
• 160 g Red Bean Paste ( Anko Paste )
• 90 ml 90ºC Hot Water

Homemade Red Bean Paste

• 250 g Red Bean ( Anko )
• 100 g Demerara Raw Cane Sugar
• 2 tbsp Maltose
• 15 g Wheat Starch
• 1 tbsp Oil
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• 1000 ml Water

How to make Red Bean Paste Click Here

How to make Cooked Glutinous Rice Flour

Instructions

1. Add 5 g Mugwort Powder with water,  soak for few minutes and drain the leaves with sieve. Squeeze out all the water to remove the bitter flavour. Reserve the drained mugwort pulp.

2. Mix the boiling water with the glutinous rice flour, drained mugwort, maltose and Demerara sugar, knead it until it becomes soft.

3. Steam at high heat for about 15 ~ 20 minutes. The dough is done when it’s surface is glossy, molten and doesn’t have a grainy taste. Coated all your equipment ~ stone mortar and pestle, knife and cutting board with oil. Dump the hot mochi into the stone mortar.  Pound it with pestle then knead/mix them well when it cools down a little.

5. If you don’t have a stone mortar, you may knead the dough inside a heat proof plastic bag. Be careful the the dough is very hot just coming out from steamer.

6. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Dust the table with cooked glutinous rice flour, place the dough on your hand, spread it circle shape, place Anko ball then wrap it.  It can be kept in room temperature and finish it in 1-2 days. If you put it in refrigerator it will become hard and you need to steam it again before you eat them.

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