It’s the Japanese celebration of sugar, rice, and everything nice, in hopes of making perfect little girls, Hina Matsuri (雛祭り): A day to wish girls’ good health, growth, and happiness.

The day is typically celebrated with dolls and a table of traditional snacks or their favourite dishes. One sweet treat many enjoy is Ichigo Daifuku いちご大福, a whole gem of a strawberry, concealed within an elegant encasement of sweet red bean paste and supple mochi.

Make a small batch of these to honor the little lady in your life using the BRUNO Multi Grill Pot that’s just the right size to steam up your mochi to gooey-fluffy perfection.  

Delving into the deets

• The fresh strawberry is the feature of this mochi, its juicy fruitiness is the perfect contrast to the delicate, chewy mochi, because of this, we recommend splurging a little to attain plump and fresh strawberries! 
• For the red bean paste use koshian こしあん which has a fine and smooth texture. You can often purchase this premade at baking supply stores, or by blending tsubuan 粒あん (coarse bean paste) in a food processor. 

Recipe (makes 6)

Steps:

1. Heat up 500 ml of water in your BRUNO Multi Grill Pot on the HI setting.  
2. In a medium heat-safe bowl mix glutinous rice flour and sugar with a whisk.
3. Add in ⅔ cup water and stir it in until you get a thick mochi mixture.
4. When the water is boiling, place the steamer rack into the Multi Grill Pot and set the bowl with the mochi mixture on top of the rack. Cover the rim of the pot with a clean tea towel to prevent condensation from dripping into the mochi, and cover the pot with its lid. 
5. Turn the heat down to the MED setting and leave the mochi to steam for 20 minutes. 
6. While the mochi cooks, you can prepare the filling components. First, trim the tops off the strawberries with a paring knife. 
7. Then divide your red bean paste into 6 equal portions, and roll them into balls between your palms.
8. One by one, flatten each ball of red bean paste into a flat disk. 
9. Use it to wrap up a whole strawberry from the top-down (starting with the wide end). Pat the paste upwards with your fingers to coax it over the berry. Seal the end by pinching it so the strawberry is completely enclosed in the red bean. Wrap these in cling film and set them aside. 
10. Remove the mochi from the Multi Grill Pot when the 20 minutes are up, it should be bouncy and slightly transparent. Set it aside to cool down for 5 minutes.
11. Dust a clean surface with cornflour, and scoop the mochi onto it with a spatula. Sprinkle more cornflour onto the mochi so it doesn’t stick. 
12. With a knife, cut the mochi into 6 equal portions. And roughly shape these into balls.
13. Like you did with the red bean paste, flatten a mochi ball into a round disk and stuff one of the strawberry-stuffed red bean blobs into it. It helps to place the bottom end of the strawberry (narrow end) in the center of the mochi disk, and attempt to pull the loose flaps up the sides so they meet at the top. 
14. Pinch the ends together tightly to seal your ichigo daifuku. Should any holes appear in the mochi skin, simply pinch it to close the gap.  
15. Dust the daifuku with cornflour so it will not stick to any surfaces. 

We recommend consuming your daifuku immediately for maximum chewy deliciousness. Happy Hina Matsuri! Enjoy~~~