• They are actually quite easy to make, but they need to sleep about half a day (or night) before they can be grilled.
• They are very satisfying to bite into and for some reason, they actually, really give a cooling sensation in the mouth. Unlike 羊羹, they can't be chilled (葛 doesn't like that, it'll turn rubbery), so the effect is quite noticeable!
• KM loves the ones with あん, but I feel the effect is not as strong with it, so I think I prefer it without.

• 100 gr 葛 flour
• 200 gr sugar
• 400 gr water
• 150 gr luke-warm water
• 上新粉 for dusting

• 80 葛
• 300 water
• 100 sugar
• 80 あん
• Mix everything except あん, strain and heat until slightly thickened. Add あん, cook for another 1'. Steam for 40' in baking sheet lined 流し器.

• It can look a bit one dimensional, so most variations use two different colours that are just barely mixed. This looks very pretty when cut! So divide ingredients in half.
• Mix sugar and 葛, add water and mix. Sieve, then heat until sticky.
• Into the warm water, add the food colouring and add it in little steps to the sticky dough until incorporated (that's the TT method. Other videos don't bother with that.)
• Add the two colours into the 流し器 and just barely mix (TT mixes it in the pot, but I find it easy to overmix that way)
• Steam the whole affair for 10' under a cloth-lined lid.
• Take out, cover with a moist, cool cloth and let it cool on the counter (not the fridge!) for half a day in the 流し器.

• Then powder with 上新粉, upend and let fall out. More 上新粉, then cut. It makes a big difference if you manage to cut them straight, so using a string to cut might be a good idea here.

➡️ You could also grill the whole block, and then cut it. I presume it'll be easier to make them all exactly the same like that.

• Cover all sides with 上新粉, brush away excess and grill in Teflon until slightly firmed. For me, that was about 45 seconds per side on 6.

👆 I wonder if adding a little bit of sugar to the 上新粉 could give a bit of a caramelised surface and a more satisfying bite? Nope, it just becomes sticky (tried it in IX 26 with 25% powdered sugar).

• They can be brandied afterwards with butterflies, for example, or water patterns.