Okinawan Nantu Recipe

How to make it

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• combine mochiko and water, mixing well with a wooden spoon
• place the dough on a thin wet dishtowel, or triple cheesecloth in a steamer and steam for 30- 40 mintues (the dough at first just looks like paste, but after it is steamed, it will look like steamed, somewhat translucent paste- don't worry, it will taste fine!)
• While it is cooking, make the syrup- dissolve the sugar into the water and cook in a little pot until it is, well, syrupy
• When dough is done, put it in a bowl
• Add the syrup and the flavor and coloring if you wish
• sprinkle any of the above mentioned flours onto the 8-inch pan and spread the sweetened dough onto it using a wet spatula or wet rice paddle
• let cool for at least 6 hours or overnight with a dry dishtowel
• cut with a plastic or wooden knife that has been dipped into water before each cut ( a metal one has tendency to stick more)
• cut into little squares, whatever size you wish and roll each piece in the more of any one of the above mentioned flours- you can do this in a big plastic container with a lid
• enjoy your nantu
• Sometimes I add about 1 to 1 and a half cups of boiled, peeled, and finely mashed Okinawan sweet potato to the dough when it is cooked. I add maybe 1/4 cup or so of sugar to sweeten the sweet potato before adding to dough. This makes for a really pretty nantu.
• traditionally red is the color, and you can even split up the dough and color one batch red and spread the white down first and then put the red dough on top.
• In Okinawa, the water used to steam the Nantu was sprinkled in the corners of the house to rid it of evil- so no wasting nothing alright!
• Let's eat!
• Thank you to my family for the food and Ann Kondo Corum's Ethnic Foods of Hawaii Cookbook for the specific measurements. Mahalo