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Kashiwa mochi
Oak leaf rice cakes
Kashiwa mochi (柏餅): bean-filled rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves for Children's Day
On 5 May, Children's Day, families in Tokyo and across eastern Japan eat kashiwa mochi: soft, flat rice cakes folded over sweet bean paste and wrapped in an oak leaf. Oak trees keep their old leaves until new ones bud, so the leaf stands for a family line carrying on. The leaf isn't eaten; it adds a faint woody scent and keeps the mochi moist. Mochi is very sticky: cut it into small pieces for young children and older people, and make sure they chew well and eat sitting down. The common mistake is steaming the dough too briefly, which leaves it pasty; steam until it turns slightly translucent, then knead. Chef's tip: dried oak leaves from Japanese grocers need a 10-minute simmer and a rinse before use; if you can't find them, wrap in cherry or bamboo leaves or baking paper.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the dough
- ½ oz potato starch
- ⅔ oz sugar
- ¾ cup hot water
For the filling
- 8 ½ oz sweet red bean pastesmooth or chunky
To wrap
- 8 dried oak (kashiwa) leavessimmered for 10 minutes and rinsed
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What you'll need
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Divide 8 ½ oz sweet red bean paste into 8 balls of 30 g.
Step 2: Mix 5 ½ oz joshinko (non-glutinous rice flour), ½ oz potato starch and ⅔ oz sugar, then stir in ¾ cup hot water and knead into a smooth dough like stiff clay.
Step 3: Line a steamer with a damp cloth, tear the dough into pieces and spread them on it.
Step 4: Steam over a high heat for 20 minutes, until slightly translucent.
20 minStep 5: Tip the hot dough into a bowl and knead with a wet spatula, then with wet hands, until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes.
Step 6: Divide into 8, flatten each into an oval about 10 × 7 cm, place a bean ball on one half and fold over, pressing the edges to seal.
Step 7: Steam the filled cakes for 3 minutes to set the seal and give a glossy surface.
3 minStep 8: Cool slightly, then wrap each in one of the 8 dried oak (kashiwa) leaves with the shiny side outwards. Eat the same day, peeling off the leaf.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 190 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 43 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does kashiwa mochi take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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