Gyûhi

Ingredient	1 Batch	1 Batch
shiratamako (sweet rice flour)	2⅔ oz.	75g
water	½ cup	120ml
sugar	⅔ oz.	75g
potato or corn starch	as needed	as needed

Gyūhi is a soft, delicate dough made of glutenous rice flour; it is used as the outer wrapping for traditional Japanese sweets like daifuku.

Preparation

Prepare the surface you will use to work with the dough (a cookie sheet or cutting board, for example) by dusting generously with potato or corn starch to prevent it from sticking.

Mix ingredients and heat.
Put the flour in a microwavable bowl and add water a little at a time, whisking constantly so it doesn’t clump. Once the water and flour are completely mixed, add sugar and whisk until smooth. Cover and microwave for one minute on high.
Mix and heat again.
At this point it is halfway done; some liquid will have separated on top. Wet a wooden spatula or spoon and mix again very thoroughly. Cover and microwave for another minute.
Turn out and shape.
Wet the spatula again and scrape the dough together into a ball with it, then drop onto the dusted work surface you prepared. Coat your hands with starch so it doesn’t stick and dust the dough as well, then work it as required for whatever you’re making.

The trick to making soft, smooth gyūhi is to mix it very, very well after heating it.
Gyūhi are properly made with shiratamako, which can be hard to find outside Japanese specialty stores; sweet rice flour (also called glutenous rice flour or mochiko) is commonly available in supermarkets and works well as a substitute. Shiratamako may, however, stay soft longer than mochiko.
Gyūhi can be frozen, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.