Hello everyone,
I’m Ishibashi, store manager at our Kyoto store.
Today, I’d like to introduce a recipe for kusa mochi (mugwort rice cakes) made with soft infused ume.
Now that the weather has warmed up, it finally feels like spring has arrived. One of my favorite seasonal delights is kusa mochi. The gentle aroma of yomogi (mugwort) makes me feel like spring is truly here.
For this recipe, I added ume fruit as a hidden flavor inside the sweet bean paste filling. The balance between the sweetness of the anko and the tangy aroma of ume is excellent, and the tender texture of the fruit adds a pleasant touch. I hope you’ll give homemade kusa mochi a try!
- 3 infused ume
- 5g yomogi powder
- 20g shiratamako (glutinous rice flour)
- 80g joshinko (non-glutinous rice flour)
- 10g sugar
- 180g tsubuan (chunky sweet red bean paste, enough for 6 portions)
1.Moisten the yomogi powder with a little water.
2.Soak shiratamako in 3 tbsp of lukewarm water until softened.
3.In a heatproof bowl, mix joshinko and sugar. Add 90g lukewarm water and stir. When Step 2 has absorbed the water and softened, add it to Step 3 and mix well.
4Cover with plastic wrap and microwave at 600W for 4 minutes. Remove and mix well.
5.Microwave again at 600W for 1 minute. When cool enough to touch, add Step 1 and mix.
6.Knead by folding the dough inward with wet hands until evenly blended.
7.Once the dough turns a uniform green, divide into 6 portions.
8.Chop the ume flesh and mix into the red bean paste, shaping into 30g balls. Wrap each with a flattened piece of mochi.
9.Pinch the mochi around the bean paste to seal.
10.Finished!
As part of our SDGs efforts, we will continue to share recipes that help reduce food waste by making use of infused ume. Please enjoy every last piece of ume deliciously!