Dorayaki is a red bean paste sandwich but with pancakes instead of bread. Pancakes should be with lots of moisture and sweet. My favorite Doraemon, a blue chubby cat robot, also loves Dorayaki. I can’t find a reason not to like Dorayaki! Since it takes a while to make “Anko” (Sweet red bean paste), I suggest of buying it from a Japanese supermarket store. Otherwise, you can do with custard cream or ice cream too.
Ingredients
150g of plain flour, sifted
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tablespoon of water (for baking soda)
2 eggs
100g of white sugar
2 tablespoon of honey
1 tablespoon of mirin
1-2 tablespoon of water * To adjust the thickness of the dough. Need to adjust based on the size of the eggs.
Vegetable oil
200-300g of “Anko” (Sweet red bean paste)
Instruction
1. Dissolve baking soda in a tablespoon of water. Mix honey and mirin in a small bowl.
2. In a large bowl, lightly whisk eggs. Add sugar and mix well until the mixture looks slightly pale. Do not mix too much.
3. Add baking soda + water and honey + mirin to the egg mixture.
4. Add flour into the mixture and water, and mix lightly. The mixture should be a little thinner than usual pancakes. Do not mix too much otherwise it doesn’t get fluffy texture.
5. Cover and rest in a fridge for 30 mins. If you are in a hurry, you can skip this step.
6. Prepare a non-stick fry pan, a wet tea towel, a small piece of a kitchen paper, large plate and a sheet of foil or a kitchen towel.
7. Heat a fry pan with a low temperature and add a small amount of oil and wipe it with a kitchen paper.
8. When it feels the pan is hot enough, place it on the wet towel for 5 secs.
9. With a ladle or a tablespoon, pour the mixture on the pan. I like mini Dorayaki using a tablespoon. Usual size is about 8-10cm in diameter.
10. Keep the low heat, and cook the pancakes until they get medium size of bubbles on the surface and the edge becomes less wet.
11. When ready, flip the pancakes and leave them for 30-60 secs.
12. Move the pancakes to a large plate, and cover with the foil or a tea towel not to get dry.
13. Continue to make pancakes until finishing the mixture.
14. Spread red bean paste on a pancake and make sandwiches.
15. Wrap each Dorayaki with plastic wrap to keep moisture.