What's shiratamako (shiratama flour)?

Shiratamako or shiratama flour is made from mochigome(餅米), glutinous short-grain rice or sticky rice in English, and used to make many types of wagashi (traditional Japanese confectionery).You might've heard of mochiko or mochi flour, which is also made from the same types of rice, but the way of processing is different. Although mochiko is simply made by drying and grinding the rice, shiratama flour needs more processing, grounding it with water, dehydrating and then solidifying, crushing and finally drying.

As a result, Shiratama flour creates softer, smoother and chewier texture than mochiko.

Popular wagashi with shiratama flour

Here are some popular wagashi(Japanese traditional confectionery) made from shiratama flour.

Shiratama dango (白玉団子）

Shiratama dango are small ball-shaped mochi and often served with syrup such as kuromitsu
and/or sweet toppings such as anko (sweet azuki bean paste), kinako (roasted soy powder),
kurogoma(black sesame) , etc. It is also popular as a topping for an-mitsu(Japanese style parfait),
and people often enjoy it with Japanese green tea in a Japanese style cafe.

Daifuku mochi (大福餅)

Daifuku mochi or Daifuku are small round mochi stuffed with a sweet filling made from azuki beans.　As it is so popular, you can buy it anywhere in stores like konbini (convenience store).