How to Make Edamame Dessert “Zunda-mochi”

April 23, 2011 - Food & Drink, know-how - Tagged: Recipe, Sweets

Zunda-mochi is a traditional dessert of Northeast Japan. It is mochi covered with zunda, which is sweet edamame (green soybeans) paste. Mochi is sticky and chewy rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape.

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At tea shops, the dessert is often served with green tea and some kind of salty side dish like tsukemono (Japanese pickles) or salted kombu (kelp) to neutralize the sweetness.

Zunda is mostly used for sweets but salty version is also eaten in Northeast Japan. You can find a variety of zunda flavored foods in the area, such as zunda icecream and salty zunda flavored pretzel sticks.

“Zunda and Vanilla Ice Cream”

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“PRETZ (pretzel sticks) Zunda Flavor”

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Since edamame are harvested in summer, zunda is considered as a summer food.

But you can make zunda anytime through a year because there is frozen edamame available at grocery stores.

It is easy to make zunda-mochi at home. Here is a recipe!

[Ingredients]
Mochi (It doesn’t matter if it’s ready made mochi or home made mochi made from mochiko.)
Frozen Edamame 100 g
Water 80 cc
Sugar 4 tbs
A nip of Salt

[Directions]
1: Shell the defrosted edamame. Take off the membranes too.
2: Microwave the edamame for 2 minutes.
3: Mash the edamame (You can use a food processor.)
4: Add sugar, water and a pinch of salt into the paste, and cook it over a low flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
5: Cool the paste and serve with mochi at cool or room temperature.