Japanese cuisine · Desserts & Sweets

Kuzumochi

Translucent kuzu-starch cubes, chilled and served with toasted soybean flour and dark cane sugar syrup.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 100 g kuzu starch (or potato starch)
• 400 ml water
• 40 g sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 40 g kinako (toasted soybean flour)
• 3 tbsp powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp cane sugar syrup (kuromitsu, or dark beet syrup)

Instructions

1. Stir the kuzu starch with the cold water, sugar and salt in a pot and pour through a sieve to be sure no starch lumps remain.
2. Set the pot over medium heat and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon continuously for 6–8 min. until it turns from milky to thick and translucent.
3. Keep beating vigorously for another 2 min. until it clings heavily to the spoon and shows no more white streaks – only then is the starch fully gelatinized.
4. Pour immediately into a shallow dish rinsed with cold water, about 20 × 15 cm, smooth the surface and set in ice water for 20 min. until firm and glass-clear.
5. Mix the kinako with the powdered sugar and dust a serving plate thinly with it.
6. Cut the kuzumochi into 3 cm cubes with a moistened knife, toss in the kinako mixture and serve chilled drizzled with the sugar syrup.