Dishes
fruit daifuku
水果大福
Also called: 大福 · 草莓大福 · strawberry daifuku · mua chee
Soft mochi wrapped around fresh fruit and a sweet filling.
What it is
Daifuku is a Japanese sweet: a small round of mochi stuffed with a sweet filling, most often red bean paste. Fruit daifuku add a piece of fresh fruit, the best known being the strawberry version.
Where it comes from
Wikipedia says daifuku were once called 'belly-thick' rice cakes, and the name changed to 大福, 'great luck', because the words sound the same in Japanese. Strawberry daifuku are said to date from the 1980s, though many shops claim to have invented them.
How it is made
The mochi is made from glutinous rice, wrapped around the filling and fruit, and dusted with starch so it does not stick.
How to eat it
A snack or dessert. In Japan the strawberry version is a spring sweet.
In Kaohsiung
A-Mian Mochi in Kaohsiung makes everything by hand, starting with rice milk that takes up to eight hours. Fillings use Taiwanese produce such as Miaoli strawberries, Fangshan or Yujing mangoes, Dajia taro and Wandan red beans.
Where to eat it in Kaohsiung
Sources