D A I F U K U

DAIFUKU
[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

Daifukumochi (大福餅, Daifukumochi?) [daifukumochi], or Daifuku (大福, Daifuku?) [daifuku] in short, literally "great luck", is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi (glutinous rice cake) stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans.

Daifuku comes in many varieties. The most common is white, pale green or pale pink colored mochi (rice cake) filled with anko (sweet red bean paste). These come in two common sizes, one about as large in diameter as a half-dollar coin, the other large enough to fill the palm of your hand.

Some versions contain whole pieces of fruit, mixtures of fruit and anko or crushed melon paste. Nearly all Daifuku are covered in a fine layer of corn or taro starch to keep them from sticking to each other, or to the fingers. Some are covered with confectioner's sugar.


HOW TO MAKE DAIFUKU_:

Daifuku is a kind of Japanese mochi cakes. Serve daifuku with hot green tea. You can make various daifuku, changing the filling. This is a recipe to make basic daifuku with plain anko filling.

1 cup shiratama-ko (rice flour)
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
*For filling
2/3 cup water & 1 cup sugar & 1/2 cup dried anko powder
or use 1 1/4 cup premade anko
*katakuriko starch for dusting

Heat 2/3 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a pan. Add 1/4 cup of anko powder in the pan and stir well. Cool the anko filling. Make 12 small anko balls and set aside. Put water and sugar in a heat-resistant bowl and mix well. Add shiratama-ko flour in the bowl and mix well. Put the bowl in microwave and heat the dough for two minutes. Stir the dough. Heat the dough in microwave until the dough inflates. Stir the mochi quickly. Dust a flat pan with some katakuri-ko starch. Also, dust hands with some katakuri-ko. Remove the hot mochi from the bowl to the pan by hands. Dust hands with more katakuri-ko starch and divide the mochi into 12 pieces by hands. The mochi is hot and sticky, so be careful not to burn your hands. Make 12 flat and round mochi. Put a piece of anko filling on a mochi and wrap the anko by stretching mochi. Rounds the daifuku. Repeat the process to make daifuku cakes. *Makes 12 daifuku.