Basic Nerikiri (Bean Paste and Rice Dough)

Put the shiratamako into a bowl.

Add water little by little, and dissolve the shiratamako thoroughly.

Combine the shiratamako mixture and the shiro-an in a sauce pan.

Stir with a wooden spatula.

When it's mixed evenly, turn the heat on medium.

Stir the mixture thoroughly.

Once the water has evaporated enough and the mixture is about the same consistency as a nerikiri (about the firmness of your earlobe), turn the heat off.

Stick the nerikiri dough onto the inside of the sauce pan and let cool evenly.

Bring the dough together once it's cooled.

Leave a portion aside (you won't be coloring that portion).

Take the portion to be colored, and divide it into thirds.

Dissolve the natural food coloring in water, and color the dough respectively red, blue, and yellow.

Halve each colored portion, and take one half to divide that into 2 portions again.

You should now have 1 large and 2 small portions of each color.

Take the small portion of the red and blue to mix.

Now you have a purple nerikiri.

Do the same for red and yellow to make orange nerikiri.

Mix the blue and yellow for green.

Now you have 6 colors.