On Sunday 31 July, Tim Anderson, winner of MasterChef 2011 and owner of the Japanese soul food restaurant Nanban in Brixton, will be joining José Pizarro to host a Guardian Members’ dinner.
Anderson’s signature style combines his American heritage with a love of regional Japanese cooking and an interest in all things scientific. Before the event, he shares one of his favourite dishes.
Makes 6
For the red bean paste
100g dried azuki beans
100g caster sugar
For the mochi
150g glutinous rice flour (shiratamako or mochiko)
4 ½ tbsp icing sugar
150ml water
To assemble
6 large strawberries, hulled cornflour or potato starch, as needed
For the red bean paste
1 Soak the azuki beans in water overnight.
2 Drain and then place in a saucepan or pressure cooker with water to cover. Boil until the beans are very tender – you should be able to crush them easily between your fingers. This should take about 20 minutes in a pressure cooker, or 1 hour in a saucepan.
3 Top up with water as needed, but in the end let the pan boil dry (stirring to make sure the beans don’t catch).
4 Mash in the sugar, and then pass the mixture through a sieve so you have a perfectly smooth paste. Chill in the refrigerator until needed.
For the mochi
1 Combine the rice flour and sugar in a heat-proof bowl.
2 Add a third of the water and stir to combine, add another third and stir again, then add the remaining water and stir until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
3 Place the bowl in a steamer and steam for 15 minutes. Remove the mochi from the bowl with a spatula and dust lightly with cornflour or potato starch.
To assemble
1 Cut the mochi into 6 equal pieces and divide the bean paste into 6 balls.
2 Rub your hands with a little cornflour to keep them from getting sticky, and gently wrap the bean paste around the strawberries so they’re evenly coated – like putting sausage meat around a Scotch egg.
3 Flatten each ball of mochi with your hands or a rolling pin, using a little cornflour to keep it from sticking, but don’t overdo it; you need them to be a little sticky to seal the dumplings.
4 Cup a round of mochi in the palm of your hands, then place the bean-coated strawberry inside, pointed end down.
5 Draw up the sides of the dough to cover the strawberry and pinch it together to seal on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining strawberries.
6 Handling bean-coated strawberries can be tricky; to make it easier, put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up before wrapping them in the mochi.
This recipe comes from Anderson’s book Nanban, published by Square Peg. To find out more about our culinary events, sign up to become to become a Guardian member.
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