Instructions: Combine rice flour, sugar and water in a heat-proof bowl. Mix thoroughly until there are no visible lumps and the sugar seems to have dissolved.

Place the bowl into a Chinese bamboo steamer, couscous maker, rice cooker or other steamer contraption, cover, and steam for approximately 30 minutes. Make sure there is enough water to simmer for 30 minutes, but not so much that it boils over into your bowl of mochiko mixture. Check the dough after 30 minutes; it should be uniformly translucent. If not, continue to steam, checking it for uniformity at 5-minute intervals.

While the mixture is cooking, prepare the filling and your work space.

Remove red bean paste from its can and mix thoroughly to an even consistency.

Place in the refrigerator or freezer for 15-20 minutes.

Lightly dust work area and serving dish with cornstarch.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cornstarch in a shallow bowl or plate large enough to fit the flat of your hand (for easy coating to be used as you work with the mochi dough).

When the dough is done, remove the bowl from the steamer, and allow it to cool slightly. As soon as the dough is cool enough to touch, cover the bowl with a damp, lint-free towel, tap your hands in the cornstarch, and pull a golf ball-sized piece of dough from the mass, keeping the bowl mostly covered with the towel.

Quickly shape the dough into a ball, taking care not to use too much cornstarch. Flatten the dough with your hands into a disc approximately 3 inches in diameter. Scoop about 1 teaspoon filling into the center of the dough.

Repeatedly pinch together opposite ends of the disc while rotating the disc until you have completely enclosed the filling and sealed the dough. Place the completed mochi on the serving dish, seam-side down. The mochi will round out and flatten slightly as it rests. Repeat the process until all of the dough has been used.

Mochi are best eaten fresh, within a day or two, but can be kept for several days at room temperature, wrapped tightly and individually with plastic wrap.

Mochi can also be refrigerated or frozen for longer storage (and a slightly chewier texture).

Note: Glutinous rice flour, also called mochiko, and sweetened red bean paste are available in well-stocked supermarkets or Asian markets. Mochiko is sold in boxes; sweetened red bean paste is canned.

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