Ingredients
1 1/2 cups mochiko, plus more for dusting
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/3 cups water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
Directions
1. Place mochiko and salt in a large bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.
2. Combine water, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, about 5 to 6 minutes.
3. Make a well in the center of the mochiko mixture and pour in the sugar syrup. Stir until all flour is incorporated. Immediately turn dough onto a work surface lightly floured with mochiko and knead until smooth and elastic, about 4 to 5 minutes; dust with more mochiko as needed to prevent sticking.
4. Pinch off tablespoon-size pieces and, using a floured rolling pin or your hands, flatten into 3-inch circles about 1/8 inch thick.
5. Dust rice cakes with mochiko and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator or freezer, or use as desired.
Taïyaki
Ingredients
2/3 cup cake flour (110g)
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 tablespoon of sugar
3/4 cup milk or water (180ml)
1 egg
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup anko (red bean paste)
oil to cook
1 Taiyaki Pan needed
Directions
1. Mix the cake flour, baking powder, and sugar together. Beat an egg. Add water or milk to the beaten egg. Then add the flour mixture and mix well. Move batter to an easy pour container.
2. Preheat taiyaki pan. Keep heat at medium. Brush oil on the both sides of the pan (inside part of pan). Pour a small amount of batter to the preheated pan (on one side). Add a large spoonful of red bean paste. Then pour a little more batter just enough to cover the paste. Close the pan and turn over.
3. Reduce to medium low heat. Cook for about 30 seconds and turn the pan over again. Repeat turning the pan and cooking. Cook until they’re golden brown on each side.
4. Trim the edges off. You can cool them on a cooling rack or serve them right away.
Dorayaki
It's a traditional sweet made with pancakes with anko (sweet bean paste) filling. It's said that it's named after its shape which resembles dora (gong). It's good to make dorayaki on an electric pan so that cakes turn evenly brown.
Makes 4 or 5 dorayaki cakes
Ingredients
2 large or 3 small eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp water
1 cup all purpose flour, sifted
3/4 lb anko (sweet azuki bean paste)
*vegetable oil for frying
Directions
1. Put eggs and sugar in a bowl and whisk very well. Dissolve baking soda in water. Add the water in the egg mixture.
2. Add sifted flour in the egg mixture gradually. Heat a skillet or hot plate and lightly oil it. Pour a scoop of the batter into the skillet and make a small pancake. (*about 3-4 inches in diameter.)
3. Turn over when bubbles appear on the surface. Repeat this process to make 8-10 pancakes. Cool the pancakes.
4. Make pairs of pancakes and put a scoop of anko sweet beans between them.
Manju
Ingredients
2 cup rice flour (Mochiko)
1 cups sugar
2 cups water
1 can of anko (Sweet Bean Paste)
Directions
1. Mix flour, sugar and water in a rather flat container and cover it with plastic wrapper and microwave it at high for about 11 min.
2. Wrap anko with this dough to a little bun shape and sprinkle rice flour so it won't stick.
Mitarashi dango
(Rice dough dumplings with sweet-salty sauce)
Makes about 25 dumplings (5 skewers)
Ingredients
For the dumplings:
220ml joushinko
110ml shiratamako, or mochiko plus 1 Tbs. of cornstarch or potato starch
265ml or so of hot tap water (water that’s hot if you put your hand in, but doesn’t burn you)
A pot of boiling salted water
For the mitarashi sauce:
1/4 cup (55 ml) sugar
1/2 cup (105ml) water, with 1 Tbs. cornstarch or potato starch or arrowroot dissolved in it
1/8 cup (28 ml) soy sauce
1 Tbs. mirin
1/2 Tbs. rice vinegar
Directions
1. Mix together the joushinko and the hot water. Add the shiratamako. Mix until it forms a soft dough that feels a bit dry to the touch. It’s a very pleasant dough to handle.
2. Divide the dough into 25 pieces (you can do this by forming a long log and cutting it, or just divide it up in the bowl and eyeball it). Make each piece into a little round ball. It doesn’t have to be perfect in shape - a little bumpiness is fine.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt, as you would for boiling pasta. Add the dumplings a few at a time to the pot. After a few minutes, the dumplings will come floating to the surface. Boil for a further 3-4 minutes, then scoop out with a slotted spoon or similar.
4. Immediately dump the dumplings into a bowl of cold water.
5. Put the dumplings on skewers, 4 or 5 per skewer. Try to pierce the dumplings in the middle.
6. Grill the skewered dumplings on a grill or a grill pan, turning several times, until nice burn marks form over them.
7. While you’re grilling the dumplings, make the mitarashi sauce. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small pan and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce has thickened. The more it cools, the more viscous it will get. You can make the sauce in advance too.
8. Pour the sauce over the still warm skewered dumplings. They are best eaten right away, but you can make them in advance too, as long as you bring them to room temperature before eating.
Karintö
Ingredients
100g flour
40g water
10g sugar
10g oil
3g baking powder
Oil for frying
(for the caramelization)
50g sugar
10g water
Instructions
1. Sift the flour and the baking powder then add (10g) sugar.
2. Mix in the (40g) water and the oil. (If the dough is sticky you can add a little more flour)
3. Leave for 20 - 30 minutes.
4. Roll the dough into slim sticks (long or short).
5. Put on the oil to heat at a low temperature. Put in several pieces at once in the oil and let them fry for 5 minutes, then put to drain on a paper towel.
6. After all of the dough is fried, increase the heat for the oil. Pour all the pieces back into the oil (ensuring that the oil can cover them even if it’s only slightly and stir to brown evenly) and fry for 3 minutes, then allow to drain on a paper towel.
Caramelization :
7. Pour the sugar and the water into a pot and stir on low heat until the sugar is completly dissolved. Pour the golden brown Karinto into the pot and stir until all the pieces are covered. Then, pour them in either the bowl or on the cling wrap and seperate the Karinto and let dry.
Daigakuimo
Ingredients
1 pound sweet potatoes
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp water
1 tsp sesame seeds
Vegetable oil for frying
Directions
1. Cut sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
2. Heat the oil and fry the sweet potatoes at 350F until brown.
3. Mix water, sugar, and soy sauce in a pan. Put the pan on low heat.
4. When the liquid turns sticky, remove from the heat and add fried sweet potatoes.
5. Quickly mix the potatoes with the sticky sugar.
6. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the coated sweet potatoes.