chocolate mochi

The recipe.........

The Ganache.....

250 gm chocolate
1/2 cup of heavy or double cream
2 T unsalted butter
2 T rum (optional) I did not use this
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cocoa for dusting

The mochi dough............
1 cup mochi or glutinous rice flour or pulut
1/4 cup raw sugar or white sugar (I used white)
2/3 cup water (Iused 1/2 cup) dependingon your flour quality

Strawberry Daifuku

- 10 small strawberries, about 10 grams (1/3 ounce) each (if your strawberries are large, you can cut them in half)
- 100 to 120 grams (3 1/2 to 4 1/4 ounces) anko* (sweetened azuki bean paste: koshian is smooth, tsubuan is chunky)
- 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) shiratamako* (glutinous rice flour; comes in granules)
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
- 150 ml (2/3 cup) cold water
- plenty of katakuriko* (potato starch) for dusting (corn starch can be substituted)

Makes 10 ichigo daifuku. The recipe can be doubled, but these daifuku taste best on the day they're made, so don't make more than you can eat within a day or so.

Rinse, dry, and hull the strawberries. Coat each strawberry with about 2 teaspoons red bean paste. Place the coated strawberries on a plate and reserve in the fridge.

If you have a microwave: combine the rice flour, sugar, and water in a plastic or glass bowl, and stir to dissolve. Cook for 2 minutes in the microwave on medium, stir with a silicone spatula, and repeat once or twice, until the mixture is thick and slightly translucent.

If you have a rice cooker: combine the rice flour, sugar, and water in the bowl of the rice cooker, and stir to dissolve. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stiring once or twice during that time with a silicone spatula, until the mixture is thick and slightly translucent.

If you have a steamer: combine the rice flour, sugar, and water in a heatproof bowl that fits inside your steamer, and stir to dissolve. Place the bowl in the steamer and cover the bowl with a heatproof plate or cover. Close the steamer and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stiring once or twice during that time with a silicone spatula, until the mixture is thick and slightly translucent.

While the rice flour mixture is cooking, pour a generous layer of potato starch in a rimmed baking sheet, and keep more potato starch on hand. When the rice flour mixture is ready, pour it onto the prepared baking sheet; it will be super sticky. Sprinkle generously with more potato starch, pat the dough to flatten it slightly (caution: it will still be rather hot), and use a pastry cutter/scraper or a knife to cut it into 10 even pieces, square or triangular.

Remove the coated strawberries from the fridge. Take one piece of dough, stretch it gently so it will be large enough to envelop a strawberry, and place it on the palm of your hand. Dust the starch off the top surface with a pastry brush, place a coated strawberry in the center, tip side down, and wrap the dough around it, twisting the edges gently to seal into a pouch, and making sure the dough doesn't tear.

Place the daifuku seam side down on a plate dusted with potato starch, and repeat with the rest of the ingredients. The dough will get less flexible as it cools, so try to work at a brisk pace. Save the unused potato starch in a container to use again next time.

Let rest for an hour to set and cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature, but note that strawberry daifuku taste best on the day they're made, so don't make more than you plan to eat within a day or so.

(Take a look at this video for a demo