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1
Rinse and clean the mochi rice well.
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2
Put it in a rice cooker.
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3
Fill the cooker with water up to the two-cup mark.
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4
Stir in a very tiny bit of red food colouring and 3 tablespoons of sugar.
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5
Let sit for about 30 minutes then cook the rice.
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6
Cook the rice on regular setting.
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7
Divide the anko into 20 portions and shape each into balls.
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8
Rinse the cherry leaves quickly and drain.
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9
After cooking the rice stir and roughly mash.
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10
Flatten the rice surface in the cooker and divide it into the desired number of sakura-mochi.
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11
Moisten your hands and wrap the portioned bean paste with the portioned rice.
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12
Wrap the rice with cherry leaves.
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13
Preparing the anko the previous day will make it easier to handle.
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14
[How to make anko] For moderately sweetened koshi-an: Ingredients: 250 g adzuki beans and 200 g sugar (the basic ratio is 1:1)
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15
Put 250 g of adzuki beans into a pressure cooker with twice the amount of water.
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16
Bring to a boil and drain over a colander to remove the bitterness.
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17
Return the beans to the pressure cooker with three-times the amount water and cook over high heat until the pressure gauge is raised.
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18
Reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
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19
Turn off the heat and let sit until the pressure is released.
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20
Blitz the content of the pressure cooker in a food processor until smooth.
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21
Transfer the contents to a sauce pan and cook over a low heat to evaporate off the excess moisture.
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22
Turn off the heat when the texture is to your liking.
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23
It will stiffen once it cools.
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24
Tip for Step 1 Add the food colouring before adding the sugar.
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25
That way, if the colour is too strong, you can still add more mochi rice.
