I once heard a story from someone who discovered ohagi on the last day of their trip to Japan. They told me they loved it and wanted to eat it again! They also mentioned that there are Asian supermarkets in their country. I wonder if ohagi is available there. Even if it’s not, maybe they can find the ingredients.

So, I decided to try making ohagi myself! Here’s how you can make it too.

Ingredients

• Glutinous rice
• Red bean paste (anko)
• Soybean flour (kinako)

Steps

Photo 1: Rinse the glutinous rice with water about three times.
Photo 2: Soak the glutinous rice in water for about one hour.
Photo 3: Steam the glutinous rice.
🔹 If you don’t have a rice cooker, you can use a pot and a colander as a substitute. Simply boil water in the pot and steam the rice using the rising steam.
Photo 4: Mash the softened rice. I like to leave some grains partially intact for texture.
Photo 5: Roll the rice into bite-sized balls.
Photo 6: Coat them with anko (sweet red bean paste) or kinako (soybean flour).
Photo 7: On a whim, I tried combining anko and kinako, and it turned out to be delicious! I highly recommend it.