I added salt preserved cherry blossoms and dyed the rice pink with red food coloring to the usual ohagi. The fragrance of the cherry blossoms makes them delicious, and they were a hit!This is my own way of making ohagi, but feel free to use this recipe as reference and the ohagi the way you're used to. By the way, my kids like ohagi more than sakura mochi (since ohagi has more bean paste). The cherry blossoms make these feel very elegant, so they'll be happily received as a gift. Recipe by miyuki12

I liked the size of the ohagi that friend of mine made for me 15-16 years ago. Since then, after making an ohagi recipe that was in a cookbook that came with my microwave oven several times, the recipe gradually evolved in terms of timing and amounts to become my own.The original recipe called for equal amounts of sugar and sesame seeds or kinako, but I've really cut down on the sugar.The original recipe in the cookbook that came with my microwave oven used both mochi (sweet short-grain) rice and regular japonica (uruchi or medium-grain) rice, but using mochi rice only makes the ohagi more sticky and chewyPlease use your favorite ready-made anko.I used an anko made in Sapporo, Hokkaido, that actor Yujiro Ishihara is said to have loved.If your mochi rice is old, add 10% more water. For 9 small ohagi (3 x 3 varieties). Recipe by mielle

Our family LOVES ohagi. My grandmother and mother used to make them for me. Now I am married, and since my husband loves ohagi as well, I make these quite often. I remember the hints and ingredients I picked up from them well like a magic spell, because I always helped make these. It's definitely well worth the effort to make anko bean paste yourself.You mustn't skip Step 1! Wait until the azuki beans have become very tender before adding sugar and salt! We use an equal amount of glutinous rice and white rice. The ohagi won't get hard even if kept for a day. (Our recipe is rather sweet. It says in Step 3 that you have to leave it to stand overnight, but you can go straight on to Step 4 if you like.) For 20 small balls. Recipe by Konokonomanma

We take seasonal traditions very seriously in my hometown and this is an ohagi recipe passed down to me by my mother and aunt. Depending on the season, we call this "Botamochi" in the spring and "Ohagi" in the autumn, which are the names of the flowers that bloom in that season.You can make these ohagi with non-glutinous rice by adding 1 cup of non-glutinous rice and reducing the amount of mochi rice by 1 cup. If you do this, the ohagi will taste less mochi-like, but will stay chewy and soft for a longer time. (Recipe by La Land)

Our family's way to enjoy sweet onions is to eat them raw, and as simply as possible.I usually use soy sauce, but this time I tried using shio-koji. A bit of soy sauce is added for fragrance.To keep the sweetness and the nutrition of the sweet onions, don't soak in water.When this is freshly made, the harshness and sweetness of the onion are well defined, but as it rests the sweetness becomes more dominant.Drink up the liquid too! This ohitashi will help keep your blood clean. Recipe by Mimato

A warm cup of tea embodies the season. Japanese tea and ohagi together are the perfect way to relax.You can also cook the rice in a pan.When the rice is finished cooking, wetting the rice scoop will make it easier use.If you have cheesecloth available for handling the rice, it will not harden as quickly and won't stick as easily. Recipe by Choco makaron

This is a dessert my mother taught me.If you want to make it smooth, mash the mixture in a food processor.Adjust the sugar according to the sweetness of your sweet potatoes.If steam-boiling the sweet potatoes in the microwave, it may dry out, so add a bit of water before steaming. Recipe by Yuuyuu0221

After the big earthquake we were told to cut down on electricity use, but it was o-higan (the fall equinox) so I wanted to eat ohagi! So, I cooked the mochi rice in a pot (with gas) for the ohagi. The rice cooks faster than in an electric cooker, so it was easy.When you are cooking the rice, if the heat is too high you'll have burned bits, so please cook it over low heat so as to avoid burning the rice as much as possible. If you have burned bits of rice, the ohagi will be hard and chewy...When adding the coating to the ohagi, I recommend using plastic wrap. Your hands won't get messy, and it's also more sanitary. Recipe by yaburie

Instead of white rice, use black rice; instead of wrapping with bean paste, wrap with rice. This is a reversed hagi. Everyone I know loves these.Adding non-glutenous rice and sugar keeps the rice softer longer.If you want the rice darker, use sticky rice, white rice and black rice with a 2:2:6 ratio.Shape while the rice is still warm. Keep the rice scoop in warm water to make it easier to use. Recipe by Monapan

Cookpad user Bubukun's recipe, "Sweet Carrots in the Rice Cooker" gave me the idea of cooking sweet potato like this.Adjust the amount of maple syrup to taste. When you put the mixture into a container, it is important to remove bubbles. Otherwise it won't be set cleanly. I did several trials and found the sweet potato sweetest after baking in the oven. Unfortunately, it takes time so I cooked in a rice cooker instead. The sweet potato cooks nicely in a rice cooker too. Recipe by Meifan

I wanted to make adorable Japanese sweets that were perfect for spring, so I did some experimenting with uiro dough, trying to make it not too stiff but not too soft. Finally, I thought it looked about right, so I uploaded the recipe.If you need to re-shape the dough, roll it into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and microwave it for 30 seconds, then stretch it out. If you have too much of the shiro-an, it'll stick out of the sides, so be sure to match the amount of bean paste to the size of the circle of dough. My microwave is 600w, but yours may differ, so please adjust the microwave time in step 3 accordingly. The grains of flour shouldn't be visible, and it should be springy. When the dough dries out it gets hard, so you may want to cover it with plastic wrap while you're working. Recipe by Shiropiyo

My daughter loves mochi and dumplings.Steaming ready-made cut rice cakes with regular white rice gives it a chewy texture. It's just like using glutenous rice.Steaming the rice to a softer consistency than usual makes it easy to mash and will come out nice and chewy!If you plan to prepare the rice cakes early in advance, adding a bit of sugar (about 1 teaspoon) in Step 3 helps keep the rice moist. For 12 small rice cakes. Recipe by Mikko*mikko