Green Tea Mochi with Red Bean Filling

I have heard of mochi before, but don't really fancy eating it, as I seldom like food that is coated with cornstarch. Anyway, why do I google all the way to find this Mochi recipe is because, my SIL (Emily) asked me if I know how to make this yummy thing called "MOCHI". Hmm, I was tempted to try anything new as you know , I have just started baking and cooking, and will just try everything and anything I see or hear. OK, I know it sounds crazy. Well, let's just say, it's the fun of making something with your own bare hands, and seeing it turn out to be something that is wonderfully nice and yummy, and most important edible hahaha....that's the biggest achievement and satisfaction.
So I googled through my few favourites bloggers, who are well experienced in baking and cooking , and 'YES' I managed to find some postings on Mochi-making. I studied it for a while and find it very interesting, it's kinda like making the Chinese 'tang yuen' or Glutinous Rice Balls, as it uses 'glutinous rice flour' too and the only difference is you have to mould the dough while it's still warm....or else it will turn stiff. As Mochi is supposed to be smooth and soft when you bite on it, while the filling stay gooey inside and oozes out when you bite them..........OK,  this description does not come from me but my SiL.......she says the reason why she loves this 'MOCHI' thingy is because, it reminded her of her first love........for Mochi, that is........LOL
Not wanting to bore you anymore, here's the recipe that I extracted from My Kitchen Snippets. Oh yes, some useful tips, Tip #1: Don't be too worried that the dough will become tough and stiff if you don't start moulding it right out of the microwave,as i can tell you, it's really HOT!! argh....silly me for being an amateur, I 'kelam –kabut' mould it and put filling while it's quite hot when it came out of the microwave, and .........I burned my thumb and was awarded with a tiny 'water bubble'.....lesson learned :(  *sob, sob* So, don't fold it when it's hot, warm would do...........:P

GREEN TEA MOCHI WITH RED BEAN FILLING
(yields about 4-5 balls, or 6-8 balls if you make it smaller like I did)

Ingredients
1 cup of Mochiko (I think you can only get this Mochiko flour in Japanese stores) / Glutinous Rice flour

2 tbsp of sugar

1 tsp of green tea powder (or if you prefer plain Mochi, then just opt this green tea powder out in Step 2)

2/3 cup of water

Some sweet red bean paste (or any paste that you prefer; lotus paste, peanut paste etc)

Some cornstarch, for dusting

Method:

1. With wet hands, take 1 tbsp of red bean paste and roll it into a ball. Make about 4-5 balls.
   
2. In a microwave safe bowl, mix together mochiko / glutinous rice flour, sugar, green tea powder and water. Mix well.
   
3. Microwave the mixture on 'High' for 2 minutes. Remove and stir quickly. Return it to the microwave and cook for another 2 minutes. The dough will bubble up and inflate, but be careful not to overcook or the dough will be too tough. (I used only 1 minute and 50 seconds overall on my microwave oven on High, adjust according to our own microwave).
   
4. Divide the dough into 4-5 equal portions by using a tablespoon. Make sure the plate or counter top is dusted with cornstarch as the dough is very sticky.
   
5. Dust your fingers and palms with cornstarch and flatten a piece of the dough (it will be quite hot, so be careful) and put in the filling, then wrap the dough up and seal the opening with a tight pinch. Repeat until all the dough is used up.
   
6. Chill the mochi before serving.