The other day was my grandma’s birthday. Instead of making her a cake I decided to make your green tea mochi.  I have always wanted to make mochi but was scared that it would be hard. In fact it is super easy.  I even made the filling!

The night before I rinsed and put the beans in a slow cooker.  I used azuki beans which is traditionally used for red bean soup.  I added enough water to cover the beans.   Cook on low over night.

In the morning you will wake up to soft mushy beans.  Give them a good stir and add enough sugar to taste.  Blend with a hand held blender until nice and smooth.  You can store the extra red bean in the freezer or eat it with toast in the morning.  To prepare the red bean for the mochi balls use a 1 ounce cookie scoop and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Put the cookie sheet in the freezer. Allow them to freeze for at least an hour.  It makes it easier to wrap the dough around frozen balls.

Now onto the mochi dough.  You will need Mochiko flour (or sweet rice flour), corn starch, coconut sugar and really good quality green tea powder. I really like the brand DO matcha. It has a wonderful taste but is a little pricy.  Place the Mochiko flour, green tea powder and coconut sugar into a microwavable bowl.  Then stir in the water.

Start heating up the mixture.  Microwave for about 2 minutes and stir every 30 seconds. Since  added coconut sugar it gave the balls a slightly brown tint.  If you want a more vibrant green then I would use white sugar. (the left picture is one before I microwave it and the right one is after cooking for two minutes). The dough become very sticky and hard to stir.

Remove the mixture from the microwave.  When it is cool enough to handle use a cookie scoop (coated in corn starch) and start scooping the dough and place them into a bowl of corn starch.  Coat it in corn starch and flatten it in a flat disk.  Place a frozen ball of red bean in the middle of the disk and pull the edges together and pinch to seal.  You can place each ball into a cupcake liner.

I dusted mine with a little green tea powder to give it a nice green color.

Green tea Mochi with homemade red bean paste.

Slow cooker red bean paste

Rinse about 1 cup of azuki beans and place them in a slower cooker. Cover with enough water so that there is about 1/4 -1/2 inch water above the top layer of beans.  Leave the slow cooker on over night on low. (about 8 hours)  In the morning, blend the beans with a submersion blender until you get a nice paste.  Add sugar to taste. I added about 1/2 cup since I was using coconut sugar which tends to taste less sweet.

To prepare the paste for the mochi balls, use a cookie scoop and place the balls onto a parchment paper lined sheet.  Place in the freezer and leave for about 1 hour or until you are ready to use.

Green tea Mochi http://www.offthespork.com/2013/09/green-tea-mochi/

• • 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup mochiko rice flour
  • 2.5 tablespoons coconut sugar (or white sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon green tea powder
  • Tapioca starch / corn flour for dusting

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave proof bowl.
2. Microwave on high for 2 minutes . Stir every 30 seconds. My microwave is not as strong so I had to cook it for another minute.
3. Place corn starch in a shallow bowl
4. When the mochi is cool enough to handle, use a corn starch coated cookie scoop to portion out the dough.  Place the balls into the bowl of corn starch.
5. Flatten the dough balls into a flat disk.
6. Place a frozen red bean ball into the middle of the disk and pinch up the sides.
7. Roll into a smooth ball and set aside or place into a cupcake liner.
8. Repeat with the rest of the mochi pieces until finished.
9. Should last a couple of days in an air tight container, but don’t put it in the fridge.

Enjoy!  For more recipes go to https://eatitnoworeatitlater.com/recipe-list/