Keiran

1.

To make the skin, slowly add boiling water to sticky rice flour. Knead the dough until it feels like your earlobe.

2.

To make the sweet bean paste, wash the beans, and soak them in water overnight.

3.

Pour the beans and soaking water into a pot and bring it to boil. Boil for 10 minutes, take it off the stove, let it cool and drain.

4.

Add water to the beans (amount: just enough to cover the beans) and bring it to boil. Repeat this process two more times until the beans are soft enough to crush between fingers, and drain.

5.

Strain the beans well in a strainer placed in a bowl. Easier when done under running water. Put the liquid in the bowl in a cotton bag, and squeeze it to drain water.

6.

Put 5 in a pot, add sugar in three additions (to avoid sugar splattering), and simmer to soft peaks until it holds itself. Add salt, and mix well.

7.

To make the rice dumplings, equally divide the skin dough into 12 pieces. Prepare the bean paste into a ball of 2cm each.

8.

Take a piece of the dough in your hand, sprinkle sticky rice flour (the extra amount) on the outside, and spread it out evenly. Put the bean ball in the middle, and wrap it thoroughly. It should look like a quail egg.

9.

Put the dumplings in a pot of boiling water, and cook at low heat for three minutes. When they float to the surface of water, scoop them including the cooking water, and serve it in a bowl.

Information provided by : Agriculture Promotion Division, Iwate Prefectural Office