HOW TO MAKE SAKURA MOCHI

 

sakura mochi is the girl's japanese dessert

this dessert is enjoyed during Hinamatsuri to celebrate the... beginning of spring, to wish good luck for all of the little girls in the family.

ingredients:

2 cups red beans

1 1/3 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

4 1/2 cups water

3 cups glutinous rice

2 drops red food coloring

2/3 cups sugar

Approximately 3 1/4 cups water 

16 to 18 pickled  sakura leaves

instructions:

In a bowl, leave the beans in water overnight.  Rinse beans and drain. 

in a pot simmer beans until softened. make sure that the beans don't stick to the bottom of the pan, once it's cookes the beans will have a slightly watery texture.

add sugar and salt to the beans and stir until the sugar is dissolved about 6 min turn off the heat you should refregirate the mixture for 3 days it's should be stored when we'll use it.

wach the rice drain it and leave it dry for 30 to 40 min, dissolve sugar in about 1 cup of water  and let cool add the food red coloring mix well, add the red mixture to the rice 

fill a pot with water add rice leave it rest  for 1 hour before cooking, cook the rice untill  the rice grains are soft and not hard when it's done steam for 30 minutes. Gently smash the cooked rice with a spatula

Take about 2 to 3 tablespoons of rice mixture and spread on your palm in an oblong shape about 2 1/2 inches long. make sure to not make it too thin

Place a round 1 to 2 teaspoon scoop of koshian filling (beans mixture)  near the bottom center of your oblong mochi and then fold over the top half of the oblong and seal it by pressing the ends of the  mochi closed. 

put the cooked sakura leaves around it