Techniques

The following are some of the techniques used by our chefs to make Japanese sweets.

Kinton

White bean-based paste (white beans boiled with sugar and water and then washed) mixed with coloring and then cooled.

This paste is then pushed through a sieve to make colorful noodle shapes, and then assembled around a ball of bean paste using a chopstick.

Commonly used to portray nature foliage such as trees and bushes.

Kinton

Konashi

White bean-based paste (white beans boiled with water and sugar and then mashed) mixed with flour and then steamed.

The resulting dough is then massaged with coloring mixed in.

Starting from a perfectly round ball of dough, wagashi chefs would make incisions using bamboo spatula to shape the dough into flowers.

Konashi

Uiro (Mochi)

Traditionally, mochi (glutinous rice) is steamed and pounded to make a very sticky dough, to be eaten as is or grilled.

In the case of "Uiro" mochi flour is mixed with water, rice flour, and sugar, and then steamed. The result is a chewy and malleable sweet dough, powdered with flour to prevent sticking.

The dough is then cut into multiple shapes and then shaped into anything from flowers to pumpkins.

Uiro (Mochi)

Yakikawa (Crepe)

Batter, made by mixing mochi flour, wheat flour, water, and sugar, is poured on a hot plate to make oval thin crepes.

This thin crepe is then folded (like origami) around a bean paste ball to resemble a multitude of flowers.

Yakikawa (Crepe)

Jōyō (Steamed Bun)

One of the oldest cooking method in Japanese sweets, the dough is made by mixing finely grated yams with rice flour and sugar.

The dough is then wrapped around a ball of filling (usually red bean paste, sometimes seasonal items such as chestnut) and then steamed.