Ichigo Daifuku (Strawberry Mochi)

Servings: 3

Ingredients
80g shiratama rice flour
120ml water
6 medium size strawberries
180g red bean paste
2 tbsp katakuri ko starch powder
20g sugar

Instructions
Let’s first prepare our strawberries by removing the stem, rinsing and patting them dry with a kitchen towel. Now wet your hands and make 6 small balls weighing around 25g each with the red bean paste.

Once you’ve made your small balls of red bean paste, flatten each of them out and mould all the way around each strawberry. Don’t worry if there is a gap at the top as you will need to be able grab them easily for the next step.
But before that it’s time to make the sticky dough. For this dough first you will need to mix the shiratama rice flour with water. Once the flour is well mixed continue to stir adding the sugar before pouring the mixture into a microwavable bowl and covering with cling film.

Place the bowl in the microwave and heat it for 2 minutes. When done, mix the dough with a wooden or silicon spatula and add a teaspoon of water if the dough is too solid. Be careful not to add too much water though or the dough won’t stick properly.
Put the cling film covered bowl of dough back in the microwave for an extra 1 minute. During this time, sprinkle some katakuri ko starch powder on a flat dish onto which you are going to flatten the dough. Don’t forget to also put some on your hands to prevent the dough from sticking.

Final step; gather your dough into a ball and separate into 6 equal pieces. Flatten them as you did the red bean paste and use each of them to cover your red bean paste and strawberry centres. When the dough reaches the top, roll it well in your hands to create an even-shaped ball. Finally, you just need to flatten the base to create a nice shape and you’re finished.