Japanese Sweet Dumplings: A Quick & Easy Dessert Recipe
Daifuku is a traditional Japanese dessert made with mochi and various fillings. There are many different types of daifuku, and they can be filled with anything from sweet beans to red bean paste. The most common types of daifuku use either azuki (sweetened red bean) or matcha (green tea powder). This recipe uses the latter!
What is Japanese Sweet Dumplings
Japanese sweet dumplings are a traditional Japanese dessert. It is made of a soft mochi (rice cake) filled with sweet red bean paste, which is usually served in pairs and eaten with a sweet soy sauce. The name “mochi” comes from the word for pounding rice, which is how it’s made. The glutinous rice flour dough is shaped into balls or blocks, then steamed until chewy and firm, like gelatin, like pasta. When cooled it becomes dense and chewy again—but not as tough as regular glutenous wheat flour doughs!
Ingredients
- Sugar
- Water
- Cornstarch
- Rice flour for dusting the dumplings and making the dough, plus some extra for rolling out. We used a mix of white and brown rice flour, but you can also use just white if that’s what you have on hand. You want about 1 cup total to give your dumplings their texture. If you don’t have rice flour or want to do something else instead (try corn meal!) feel free!
- Red bean paste, this is what gives our sweet dumpling its filling and flavor. You’ll need about 2/3 cup total, which should be enough to fill around 20 dumplings if you’re using wonton wrappers as big as ours did in the photos here (they were 10cm).
Instructions
- Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add the egg, water and oil to the dry ingredients and mix well. Knead the dough until it is soft and elastic.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball, then flatten it with your palm until about 3 inches wide.
Cooking Notes
- Make sure your water is at a rolling boil before you add the dumplings, and keep it boiling for the entire time.
- Do not add any salt or oil to your pot, as this will make them too salty.
- Use 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter to grease each pan before putting on your dumplings.
Pro Tip
Once you have the ingredients, it’s pretty simple to make this dish.
- First, prepare the filling by sautéing garlic in sesame oil until lightly browned and fragrant, then add ground pork and cook until no longer pink (about 5 minutes). Add soy sauce and mirin or sugar; stir well to blend in sauce. Set aside to cool slightly before using it for filling dumplings.
- To assemble dumplings: Fill a small bowl with warm water; set aside for later use when sealing edges of your dumplings with beaten egg white (this will help them seal better). Line up each wrapper without pleats side down on work surface; place 2 teaspoons of filling 1 inch from bottom edge of wrapper (with no pleats) or about ¾ inch from center if using any other folding style than Pleated Folded Style.
- Pinch corner between index finger and thumb on right hand while holding onto filling with other fingers on left hand (see photo below) so that wrapper is sealed around edges but not completely closed off yet – this will allow air pockets inside during frying process which helps prevent dough from getting soggy after baking! Then fold top over itself tucking one corner under another corner at 90 degree angle as shown in photos below, press gently so all four corners meet up neatly at center point while sealing all sides into shape!
Japanese Sweet Dumplings is best to serve with
Daifuku is best served with green tea. It can also be enjoyed with matcha, which is ground from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant and has a distinctively bitter taste that’s commonly associated with Japanese culture.
Daifuku is probably one of the most common desserts you’ll encounter when visiting Japan, and it comes in many varieties! Some are sweetened with sugar or honey, others have a creamy custard, like filling, but all share that same chewy mochi rice cake base. The sticky rice flavor means it will stick to your teeth if you’re not careful—but that’s part of what makes this dish so delicious!
Daifuku make a delicious dessert that you can enjoy anytime!
Daifuku make a delicious dessert that you can enjoy anytime! They are great for parties, as they can be made in advance. You can use different fillings and toppings to suit your taste. You can also get creative with the shapes and flavors of your daifuku.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this recipe, and we’d love to hear from you if you try it out! If you have any tips or tricks that might help us improve our recipes, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and happy cooking!
