Tri-Colored Autumn Rice Balls
Tri-colored autumn rice balls (san-shoku ohagi) is a simple a tea sweet, which was at one time served during the autumn equinox celebration. The name comes from a type of bush clover that only blooms in the fall. Serve these rice balls with your finest cup of tea.
Servings
6
3 cups prepared steamed sweet rice
¼ cup toasted black sesame seeds, lightly crushed
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup smooth Japanese bean paste (koshi-an), chilled
½ cup roasted soybean powder (kinako) or toasted ground pecans
Mix sesame seeds and sugar in a small bowl.
Moisten your hands with water and divide warm rice into 12 equal portions.
Shape 4 portions into balls. Moisten a clean dish towel and squeeze it dry.
Place 2½ tablespoons bean paste on towel; pat into a 4-inch circle.
Place 1 rice ball in the centre of the bean paste circle and use towel to mould bean paste around the rice ball.
Repeat this 3 more times, using another ½ cup of bean paste and the other 3 rice balls.
Place these on a nice serving tray. Flatten the remaining eight rice portions.
Form the remaining bean paste into 8 balls (about 2 teaspoons per ball). Place a bean paste ball in the centre of each piece of flattened rice and shape the rice around it.
Mould these stuffed rice balls into oval shapes. Roll 4 ovals in the sesame-sugar mixture. Roll the other 4 balls in the roasted soybean powder. Add these to the serving tray.