Nama Yatsuhashi (Famous confectionary of Kyoto) Recipe

Have you been to Kyoto, Japan? You might've seen this impressive shape in shops in Kyoto if you've been there. This confectionery called nama yatsuhashi has been very popular as a souvenir for Kyoto for more than 50 years. Since I bought it on my school trip, I keep buying it whenever I visit there.

This well-known sweet, nama yatsuhashi is a chewy mochi made from rice, rolled into a thin sheet.

Nama Yatsuhashi

Cinnamon flavor is the most common type of nama yatsuhashi (photo above) and cinnamon flavored nama yatsuhashi with a sweet red bean paste filling and triangle shape is also the most popular style.

We’ll show you this most popular type of nama yatsuhashi in this recipe. Most people would be surprised that we can make it at home! In fact, it's not so difficult. You only need a microwave to make it. Of course, the shape is not as perfect as shop bought products, but the homemade style looks cute, and the taste and the texture are very similar to bought products. How nice that we can enjoy these sweets even if we are not in Kyoto.

How to Prepare for the Filling

The filling, a sweet red bean paste called anko, is made from azuki beans. You might find it in Asian grocery stores or some specialist shops. If you can't get it, don’t worry. You can make it at home.

I'll show you two ways of making anko here. One is to make it from dried azuki beans. This is a traditional way of making it, and it tastes very good. You can make a type of anko called tsubuan ,chunky azuki paste with the recipe shown below.

Anko, Japanese Sweet Red Bean Paste, Recipe

The other way is using an instant powder. If you would like to make the filling easy, this dried red bean powder (Hokkaido Azuki Bean Powder used for Red Bean Paste ) is for you. By mixing hot water, sugar and this powder, you can make a type of anko called koshian, smooth paste. It 's a quick way, but it will work well in this recipe.

This powder is used for the filling in this recipe.

Let's start !

NamaYatsuhashi Recipe

Ingredients

[ For 8 pieces ]

shiratamako ,glutinous rice flour 20g/0.7oz
rice flour 30g/1oz
sugar 30g/1oz *beet sugar is used for this recipe
water 80ml
kinako, roasted soy flour 3tbsp
cinnamon powder 2tsp
anko (sweet red bean paste) 80g/2.8oz rolled into even-sized 8 balls

Instructions

In a heat-resistant bowl, place the shiratama flour, rice flour and sugar. Pour the water and mix well until smooth. *If you crush shiratama flour finely in a bag before you use it, it will be dissolved easily.
Cover the bowl with cling film and microwave it at 500W for 90 seconds.
Stir it with a spatula and put in the microwave again at 500W for 2 minutes. Stir it again until it becomes a smooth dough.
Mix roasted soy flour and cinnamon powder in a cup, and place the half of it onto the board, put the mixture on it, and then put the rest of the soy flour and cinnamon powder on it.
Roll the mixture with a rolling pin as thin as possible, about to 1-2mm. It will be about 30x20cm in size.
With a cake scraper or knife and scale, cut the edge ,and make 8 square sheets (about 8cm x 8cm).
Take one piece with the cake scraper, put the anko in the middle of the sheet, and fold it in half to make a triangular parcel.