Cherry Blossom Sticky Rice

1. 1

   Wash the mochi rice and regular rice together.

2. 2

   Drain the rice into a colander and let it sit for 30 minutes to drain off excess water while it still absorbs moisture.

3. 3

   Put the salt-preserved cherry blossoms in a colander and rinse while shaking gently to remove the surface salt.

4. 4

   Put into a bowl with 300 ml of water, and leave to soak to remove some of the salt.

5. 5

   Squeeze the cherry blossoms to remove excess water.

6. 6

   Reserve 290 ml of the soaking water.

7. 7

   Cut the hard stems off and chop the blossoms up roughly.

8. 8

   Chop the stems finely.

9. 9

   Rinse the salt-preserved cherry leaves quickly, and soak for 30 minutes to an hour in water to de-salt while checking them to make sure they still retain some saltiness.

10. 10

    Choose some nicely shaped cherry blossoms to use as decoration.

11. 11

    Soak them in water for 30 minutes to de-salt.

12. 12

    Pat dry between paper towels.

13. 13

    Put the rice from Step 1 in a rice cooker with the reserved soaking water from Step 2, sake and salt, and cherry blossom stems.

14. 14

    Mix up the contents quickly.

15. 15

    Switch the rice cooker on and cook the rice as usual.

16. 16

    When the rice is cooked, add the chopped up cherry blossoms and fold them in.

17. 17

    Leave the rice to steam and rest for about 10 minutes.

18. 18

    Taste, and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt if needed.

19. 19

    Form the rice into cylindrical balls.

20. 20

    Wrap each ball with cherry leaf that's been patted dry, and decorate with a cherry blossom to finish.

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.