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Ohagi (Sweet Rice Balls in Red Bean Paste)
Makes 12 · About 1 hr 30 min (30 min of this is just soaking the rice, and about 40 min is the rice cooker doing the work)
Cooked sweet glutinous rice, half mashed and wrapped in chunky red bean paste. A sweet often made for Ohigan, the equinox holidays.
① Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in water→② Cook in the rice cooker→③ Mash halfway→④ Roll into 12 balls→⑤ Wrap in bean paste
What to buy
Rice
Japanese sweets ingredients
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How to make it
1
Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in water
- Put 2 rice cups of glutinous rice in a bowl, pour in water, mix lightly with your hand and pour off the water
- Repeat this 3 times
- Drain in a colander and put in the inner pot of the rice cooker
- Add 340 ml water and let sit 30 min
How to tell it's doneThe rice grains have soaked up water and turned from see-through to white.
2
Cook in the rice cooker
- Cook on the rice cooker's regular setting
- When done, let sit 10 min without opening the lid
How to tell it's doneWhen you open the lid, the rice grains are plump and shiny.
3
Mash halfway
- Move the cooked rice to a bowl while still hot and add a pinch of salt
- Wet the tip of a wooden pestle (or a rolling pin) with water and mash by pounding down on the rice
- Stop when about half the grains are still whole
How to tell it's doneAbout half the grains are still whole, and it holds together in one lump when you scoop it with a spatula.
Be carefulFreshly cooked rice is hot. Do not touch it with your hands; use tools.
4
Roll into 12 balls
- Wet your hands with water
- Divide the rice into 12 equal parts (about 55 g each) and squeeze lightly to form balls
- Line them up on the cutting board and let them cool a little
How to tell it's doneAll 12 are about the same size and are not hot when you touch them.
5
Wrap in bean paste
- Divide the chunky red bean paste into 12 equal parts (about 45 g each)
- Spread out a piece of plastic wrap, put 1 portion of bean paste on it, and flatten it with the back of a spoon to about 8 cm across
- Put 1 rice ball from step 4 in the middle, lift the plastic wrap to wrap it up, and shape it
- Take off the plastic wrap and arrange on a plate
ReadyYou cannot see the rice; the bean paste covers it all. Eat the same day, at room temperature. Ohagi can easily get stuck in the throat, so cut it small for small children and older people, and chew well.
Be carefulIf you put it in the fridge, the rice gets hard.
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🔪 Cutting & cooking tips
If it didn't work out
The rice has hard centersIt did not soak long enough in step 1. Next time, let it soak a full 30 min.
It sticks to my hands when I shape itWet your hands with water often.
The bean paste cracked and the rice showsThe edges were too thin when you spread the bean paste. Make it the same thickness all the way to the edge before wrapping.
It got hard the next dayIt gets hard in the fridge. Wrap leftovers in plastic wrap and freeze, then let them come back to room temperature before eating.
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