Ohagi (Japanese Sweet Rice Balls)

Place adzuki beans in the pot and add enough water (not included in ingredients) to cover them. Cover the pot and heat over [MED] heat for about 5 minutes. Once the water comes to a boil, boil for another minute, then drain the beans into a colander. Repeat this step two more times.

Place adzuki beans and about 1 liter of water (not included in ingredients) in the pot. Cover and simmer over [LOW] heat for 60 minutes, or until the beans are soft enough to be easily crushed with fingers. Discard the cooking liquid, then add 100 ml of water and sugar to the pot. Cover and simmer over [LOW] heat for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, transfer to a separate bowl, and allow it to cool for an hour.

Return the adzuki beans to the rinsed pot, add salt, and cook over [MED] heat for about 10 minutes or until the mixture thickens. Set aside and let it cool.

Wash and drain both the glutinous and white rice. Add them in the rinsed pot along with 500 ml of water. Cover and select [RICE COOKING] mode, [WHT], [NORM], and set the amount to [2.5] rice cups. (Press and hold down the [V] icon to skip the soaking time, as glutinous rice does not require pre-soaking due to its high water absorption rate.)

Once rice is cooked, mash it with a wooden pestle or rolling pin while hot and roll into 18 equal pieces. Prepare the toppings for the ohagi. Refer to the photos to make 6 pieces each of the 3 types of ohagi.