お汁粉 (Oshiruko) is a traditional Japanese hot dessert perfect for winter. It’s a thick sweet soup made of 小豆 (azuki) red beans and 餅 (mochi) rice cake. Sometimes 団子 (dango) rice flour dumplings are used instead of rice cake.
Ingredients:
8oz azuki red beans
8oz sugar
4 blocks mochi rice cake
salt
Preparation:
- Rinse azuki red beans.
- In a large sauce pan, put the beans and 2 1/2 cups of water. Brint it to a boil.
- Turn off the heat when water boils. Drain water.
- Repeat 2-3 three times. Use fresh water each time.
- After draining water for the last time, add 4 cups of fresh water and bring it to a boil.
- Turn down the heat low and cook until beans are soft, for about an hour.
- Add sugar, mix well, and crush beans into paste.
- Add a cup of water and cook until desired thickness is achieved.
- Add a pinch of salt.
- Grill mochi for 5-10 minutes. (Alternatively, you may cook mochi in the microwave for no more than one minute.)
- Pour azuki bean soup into serving bowls.
- Add cooked mochi into each bowl and serve.