Sweet Azuki Paste, ‘Tsubu-an’ and ‘Koshi-an’, are often called ‘Anko’ in Japanese. Freshly made Mochi covered with ‘Anko’ was one of my favourite foods when I was a young child. For the new year’s celebration, my family used to make an enormous amount of Mochi by pounding steamed Glutinous Rice. To make ‘Anko Mochi’, my mother made a large potful of ‘Anko’. As we children helped to make ‘Anko Mochi’, we were allowed to eat some freshly made ones that were soft and rubbery. What a fun memory! Nowadays, in Melbourne where I live, I make Mochi by cooking Glutinous Rice Flour in the microwave, because it is the easiest method and I don’t need any special tools. ‘Koshi-an’ is tricky to make at home, but ‘Tsubu-an’ is easy. You can buy ‘Tsubu-an’ from many Asian grocery stores, but store-bought ones are extremely sweet.

Makes

8 pieces

Ingredients

110g Glutinous Rice Flour *OR Japanese ‘Shiratamako’ Flour
1/2 cup (125ml) Warm Water *plus extra
1 cup ‘Tsubu-an’ (Sweet Azuki Paste) *softer texture preferred

Method
  1. Mix Glutinous Rice Flour and Warn Water in a heat-proof bowl until smooth. Depending on the dryness of the Flour, you might need to add extra Warm Water. Make it look like thick cream.
  2. Cover the bowl with a plate, heat in the microwave for 1 minute, stir well with a wet spatular (silicone spatula recommended), and heat 1 more minute OR until the mixture is cooked through. When the colour becomes translucent (not white), it is cooked. *Note: Cooking time depends on your microwave. I cooked at 1100W power.
  3. *Important: As the mixture is very sticky, wet the spatular with warm water frequently and sprinkle some warm water over the mixture as you stir.
  4. Spread ‘Tsubu-an’ (Sweet Azuki Paste) in a deep plate, using a wet spatular, take the thick and sticky ‘Mochi’ mixture onto the ‘Tsubu-an’. Spread some ‘Tsubu-an’ over the ‘Mochi’ and set aside, because it is still too hot to handle.
  5. When Mochi is slightly cooled, divide into small pieces, and cover each peace with ‘Tsubu-an’.