The outer paste coating keeps collapsing. How do I fix it?

Sticky hands or wrap, or paste spread too thick, are the usual causes. Lightly wet your hands, spread 40 g into a thin circle on plastic wrap, and draw it around the rice. If the paste is stiff, press it softer first.

They turned hard once they cooled. Can I rescue them?

Glutinous rice alone hardens as it cools. Next time add about 10 percent ordinary short-grain rice. For a finished batch, seal and rest at room temperature about 30 minutes; avoid a hard steam, which can make the paste weep.

Can I make them a day ahead?

Yes. Wrap each piece, refrigerate, and bring them out 30 minutes before serving. For the kinako style, coat just before eating so the flour does not clump. Freeze only briefly, then thaw and bring back to room temperature.

The paste leaks out of the kinako ones.

Close the opening firmly before coating, and keep the filling to about 15 g so it is not overfilled. If a crack appears, smooth the surface and patch it with a little rice before rolling in kinako.

Do I have to wait for the equinox to make them?

No. The equinoxes are the traditional moment, but they work as a tea sweet any day. Call them botamochi in spring or ohagi in autumn if you like; the steps stay the same.

Ohagi

Name: Ohagi
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 10個分
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: Glutinous rice 3 go (about 540 ml); Adzuki bean paste 300 g; Roasted soybean flour (kinako), as needed; Salt 1/2 tablespoon

By Chef Cannon

Cuisine: Japanese

Region: 京都府

Servings: 10個分

Ohagi, also called botamochi in spring, is mashed glutinous rice shaped like a straw bale and either wrapped in adzuki bean paste or filled and rolled in kinako. It is a familiar equinox offering, and the method is almost the same year-round.

At a glance

Hands-on about 40 min · Soak at least 1 hour · Rice cooking about 50 min · 10 pieces · Medium · ≈ 230 kcal each (estimate)

Ingredients

Glutinous rice 3 go (about 540 ml)
Adzuki bean paste 300 g
Roasted soybean flour (kinako), as needed
Salt 1/2 tablespoon

Steps

Rinse the glutinous rice and soak it in plenty of water for at least 1 hour. Drain, transfer it to a rice cooker or earthen pot, add 1/2 tablespoon of salt, and cook as usual (use the glutinous-rice setting if you have one).
When it is done, let it steam for about 10 minutes. While it is still hot, lightly mash it with a pestle or rice paddle until about half the grains remain, then mix until evenly sticky. Cooking with about 10 percent ordinary short-grain rice helps the cakes stay soft even after they cool.
Divide the bean paste: about 40 g each for 6 pieces that will be wrapped on the outside, and about 15 g each for 4 pieces that will go inside the kinako ones. Roll each portion into a ball. If the paste is stiff, press it out gently on plastic wrap so it is easier to spread.
Divide the mashed rice into 10 equal portions. Shape the 6 for the bean-paste coating into a light straw-bale or oval form and smooth the surface. For the 4 kinako pieces, press a hollow in the center, add the 15 g of paste, close the opening, and shape them the same way.
To wrap paste on the outside, spread 40 g of bean paste into a thin circle on plastic wrap and set a rice oval in the center. Draw the wrap up so the paste covers the rice, neaten the shape, then peel the wrap away.
For the kinako finish, spread kinako on a sheet of baking paper or a plate and roll the filled rice ovals until evenly coated. Tap off the excess flour.
Arrange the finished ohagi on a plate. They taste best before the paste dries on the surface. Cover them with plastic wrap until just before serving to keep them from drying out.
Put any leftover paste or kinako in a small dish for those who want more. Serve with tea or hojicha, as an offering at the equinox or as a tea sweet.

Rate this recipe

Notes

At the spring equinox this sweet is often likened to peonies and called botamochi; at the autumn equinox it is likened to bush clover and called ohagi. The method is almost the same, so enjoy it under the seasonal name.

When the paste is on the outside, sticky hands or wrap will spoil the shape. Lightly wet your hands, or work through a sheet of plastic wrap, and the coating goes on neatly.

Glutinous rice alone tends to harden as it cools. Adding about 10 percent ordinary short-grain rice keeps a softer bite even at room temperature the next day.

Store-bought paste works, whether chunky or smooth. A matcha or black-sesame filling is also an easy variation at home.

For the kinako style, close the opening firmly before coating so the paste does not leak out.

Made ahead, they keep, sealed and refrigerated, from the same day into the next. Bring them back to room temperature about 30 minutes before eating so the rice softens again. Freeze only for a short time, wrapped individually.

Time and temperature

Soak the rice at least 1 hour · Cook with salt and steam about 50–60 min · Mash while hot about 5 min · Divide, fill, and shape about 20–25 min · Return to room temperature about 30 min before eating

Nutrition

230 kcal · Protein 5 g · Fat 2 g · Carbs 50 g

1 piece (about one-tenth of the recipe, estimate)

Substitutes

Adzuki paste → matcha or black-sesame paste, same weight
Kinako → black sesame powder or fine coconut, after sealing
All glutinous rice → add about 10 percent ordinary rice
Earthen pot → a rice cooker’s glutinous-rice setting
Smooth paste → chunky paste for a more textured bite

Storage

Sealed and refrigerated, they keep from the same day into the next; bring them back to room temperature about 30 minutes before eating so the rice softens. Wrap each piece so the paste does not dry. For longer keeping, wrap individually and freeze only briefly, then thaw and warm to room temperature. Do not leave them out for long, especially in summer.

FAQ

The outer paste coating keeps collapsing. How do I fix it?: Sticky hands or wrap, or paste spread too thick, are the usual causes. Lightly wet your hands, spread 40 g into a thin circle on plastic wrap, and draw it around the rice. If the paste is stiff, press it softer first.
They turned hard once they cooled. Can I rescue them?: Glutinous rice alone hardens as it cools. Next time add about 10 percent ordinary short-grain rice. For a finished batch, seal and rest at room temperature about 30 minutes; avoid a hard steam, which can make the paste weep.
Can I make them a day ahead?: Yes. Wrap each piece, refrigerate, and bring them out 30 minutes before serving. For the kinako style, coat just before eating so the flour does not clump. Freeze only briefly, then thaw and bring back to room temperature.
The paste leaks out of the kinako ones.: Close the opening firmly before coating, and keep the filling to about 15 g so it is not overfilled. If a crack appears, smooth the surface and patch it with a little rice before rolling in kinako.
Do I have to wait for the equinox to make them?: No. The equinoxes are the traditional moment, but they work as a tea sweet any day. Call them botamochi in spring or ohagi in autumn if you like; the steps stay the same.

Origin and history

Ohagi is a wagashi of lightly mashed cooked glutinous rice shaped like a straw bale, either wrapped in adzuki bean paste or filled with paste and rolled in kinako. The red of the beans has long been thought to ward off misfortune, and the cakes have been offered to ancestors at the spring and autumn equinox. A well-known explanation is that they are likened to peonies in spring and to bush clover in autumn, and so are called botamochi or ohagi by season. Kyoto is also a noted adzuki region, and varieties such as Tanba Dainagon, large beans that keep their skins when simmered, are known throughout Japan. They appear at festivals and celebrations, and today they are easy to make as an everyday sweet. This recipe uses 3 go of glutinous rice and 300 g of bean paste, enough for 10 pieces, and lets you make both the paste-wrapped and the kinako-coated styles at once.