Strawberry Daifuku

Daifuku is a Japanese sweet made with mochi and stuffed with various fillings. You can use anything from red bean paste to ice cream to fresh strawberry. I decided to try making Ichigo Daifuku or Strawberry Daifuku. This was my first attempt at making them so they were not the prettiest. These also require practice and patience.

Ichigo Daifuku is most commonly filled with anko or sweet red bean (Azuki) paste. There are many different types of anko in Asian supermarkets but I like using smooth sweet red bean paste for this particular recipe. Begin by preparing the strawberries. Portion out the red bean paste into balls and carefully wrap each strawberry. Set them aside while you make the mochi.

To make the mocha, work in batches. Add 3/4 cup sweet rice flour, 2 tbsp sugar (I used powdered sugar), and 150mL of water. Mix all ingredients in a microwaveable bowl.

Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap. Microwave for 1 minute. After a minute, stir the ingredients. There should be still some white floury parts. Place it back into the microwave and microwave for another minute.

Stir the mixture again. It should start looking more like mochi. For the last microwave, set it for 30 seconds.

Place the hot mochi on a board covered with a generous amount of corn starch or potato powder. Let it cool for a couple minutes before handling. It can get really hot!!

When the mochi is cooled off, portion the mochi into 6 to 8 portions. I like my mochi thinner and my strawberries were tiny so I portioned it into 8. Cover your hands generously with flour and carefully flatten one of the portioned pieces into a flat disk. Place an anko covered strawberry in the centre and pull the mochi around the top to cover it. Be careful to not stretch the mochi too much. Carefully form the mochi so that it is smooth. I placed my mochi onto small cupcake liners.