Ohagi and Botamochi (おはぎ・牡丹餅)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker, or a heavy pot with a tight lid
• •Surikogi (wooden pestle), or a sturdy wooden spoon
• •Plastic wrap for shaping the anko coating

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the azuki

   Rinse the azuki, cover them generously with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then drain. This first boil washes away some harshness from the skins, so the anko tastes clean rather than muddy. Return the beans to the pot, cover with fresh water by about 2 inches, and simmer gently until they crush easily between finger and thumb, 60 to 75 minutes.

2. 2

   Make the anko

   Drain off most of the liquid, leaving the beans moist but not soupy. Add the sugar and cook over low heat, stirring and crushing some of the beans, until the paste thickens and a spoon dragged through it leaves a brief path. Stir in the salt at the end. Salt does not make it salty. It steadies the sweetness, the way we do it here when sugar might otherwise shout.

   The anko firms as it cools, but it must already mound softly in the pan. Loose paste will slide off the rice when you shape it.
3. 3

   Wash the rice

   Combine the mochigome and short-grain rice in a bowl. Wash with cool water, swirling with your hand, then drain. Repeat until the water is only faintly cloudy. Washing clears away loose starch so the cooked rice is sticky and tender, not gummy on the surface. Soak for 30 minutes, then drain well.

4. 4

   Cook the rice

   Put the drained rice and 2 1/4 cups water in a rice cooker, or in a heavy pot. Cook as you would Japanese rice, then let it rest covered for 10 minutes. The rest matters. It lets the moisture settle evenly, so the grains crush together instead of leaving wet spots and hard centers.

5. 5

   Half-pound the rice

   While the rice is still warm, transfer it to a sturdy bowl or hangiri if you have one. Pound and fold with a damp pestle, surikogi, or wooden spoon until about half the grains are crushed and half remain visible. Stop before it becomes smooth mochi. Ohagi wants a little grain left in it, that quiet chew that tells you this is rice, not paste.

6. 6

   Prepare the coatings

   Mix the kinako with 1 tablespoon sugar and a pinch of salt. Mix the ground black sesame with 1 tablespoon sugar. Divide the cooled anko into portions: use larger portions to coat some rice balls, and smaller portions as the filling for the kinako and sesame ones. This gives all three kinds the same sweet bean heart without pretending they are different sweets.

7. 7

   Shape the sweets

   Keep a bowl of water beside you and dampen your palms lightly. Divide the warm rice into 12 oval portions. For anko-coated pieces, flatten a portion of anko on damp plastic wrap, set a rice oval in the center, and draw the paste up around it. For kinako or sesame pieces, tuck a small spoonful of anko inside the rice, close it, then roll the outside in the coating. Damp hands keep the rice from clinging, but wet hands make the surface slippery, so be modest.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Let the ohagi rest at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. The rice settles, the anko relaxes against it, and the coatings cling more neatly. Serve the same day, in an odd-number grouping if you're plating for the table, with space around them. Leave it room.

Chef Tips

• •Use mochigome, not only ordinary short-grain rice. The small amount of regular rice keeps the texture from becoming too elastic, but the glutinous rice is what gives ohagi its proper chew.
• •For spring botamochi, many cooks prefer smoother anko because the beans have been stored through winter and the skins are firmer. For autumn ohagi, coarse tsubuan suits the newly harvested beans. This is custom, not police work, but it has good sense behind it.
• •Do not refrigerate finished ohagi unless you must. Cold storage hardens the rice. If you need to hold them, cover well and keep at cool room temperature for the day.

Advance Preparation

• •The anko can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to room temperature before shaping so it spreads without tearing.
• •The rice should be cooked and shaped the day you serve it. Ohagi is make-ahead for hours, not for days, because rice loses its tenderness as it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)