Japanese Sweet Rice Dumplings Recipes

JAPANESE SWEET RICE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• (The Japanese call these rice dumplings obagies) Bring water to boil in a 2-quart saucepan.
• Add rice and salt, cover and reduce heat to medium.
• Cook for one hour.
• (Check to see if more water must be added to prevent sticking.) Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Mix half the raisins and half the cinnamon into half of the rice and process mixture thoroughly through a grain mill.
• (If you do not have a grain mill, use a Champion Juicer with a grinder attachment or pound mixture into a paste in a wooden bowl.) Repeat with remaining rice, raisins and cinnamon.
• Place walnuts on a baking sheet and roast in oven and let cool.
• Coarsely grind or finely chop walnuts.
• Measure rice into 2 1/2 tablespoon portio ns.
• Moisten hands and shape dumplings.
• Roll each dumpling in walnuts to coat. Serve immediately.

YAN'S SWEET RICE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Combine filling in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
• Measure rice flour into a bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour boiling water into it. Mix well with a fork until evenly moistened.
• Add cold water and stir, adding a few more drops if necessary, until dough forms a ball.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead dough for 5 minutes until smooth and shiny. Cover with a damp cloth and let rest 10 minutes.
• Roll dough into an 18 inch long cylinder. Cut cylinder crosswise into 3/4 inch pieces. Dust palms with rice flour and roll each piece into a ball.
• To shape each dumpling -- flatten a ball dough with a rolling pin to make a 2 1/2 inch circle; keep remaining dough covered to keep from drying.
• Place 1/2 tsp filling in center of circle. Gather and pinches edges at the top to seal securely. Roll carefully between your palms to form a round ball. Cover filled dumpling with a damp cloth and repeat to fill remaining dumplings.
• Cooking:.
• In a large pot of boiling water, cook dumplings, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until dumplings float to the surface. Lift out dumpling with a slotted spoon and place in a colander to drain.
• Combine sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until smooth.
• Pour sauce onto a platter and place dumplings on top of sauce. Serve hot.

KUSHI DANGO (JAPANESE SKEWERED RICE DUMPLINGS) WITH MITARASHI SAUCE

Steps:

• Bring a pot with water over medium heat to a boil. Prepare a small bowl of ice water.
• Meanwhile, mix rice flour and sugar for dough in a bowl until well blended. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition, until dough is squishy but firm.
• Dust a work surface with cornstarch. Set dough on top and knead until smooth. Pull off small amounts of dough and roll into small, uniform balls (dumplings). Use up all the dough this way.
• Drop a handful of rice dumplings into the boiling water at a time. Cook until dumplings rise to the top, 3 to 5 minutes. Once they have risen to the top, cook for 2 more minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and immediately drop them into the bowl of ice water.
• Remove dumplings from the ice water and thread 3 to 4 a skewer. Repeat with remaining dumplings, adding more ice to the water for the cooling stage once as needed.
• Prepare sauce: Combine 1 cup water, sugar, and soy sauce in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves. Stir together cornstarch and 1 1/2 tablespoons water in a small bowl and add to the soy sauce mixture. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens, then remove from heat and cool slightly.
• Heat a griddle over medium heat. Once hot, grill skewered dumplings on both sides until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Remove to a plate and pour cooled mitarashi sauce on top. Serve.