Mitsumame

Method

1. 1 Cook the agar powder with water for 3 minutes, then pour into a mold and refrigerate for 3 hours.
2. 2 Cut the jelly into 1 cm cubes; that's the word "mitsu" in the name of the dish.
3. 3 Cook red beans for 50 minutes with a little salt, then coat them with sugar, keeping the beans intact.
4. 4 The beans are kept whole instead of being ground, unlike dishes made with pureed red beans.
5. 5 Cook the dark sugar syrup until thin, then let it cool completely.
6. 6 Arrange the jelly, red beans, pineapple, orange segments, cherries, and mochi balls in a bowl, then pour in the cold syrup.

With an appliance

• Pressure cooker 1 hr 30 min

  Replace step 3: cook the soaked red beans under high pressure for 18 minutes, then release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes; this reduces the cooking time to about 22 minutes compared to the usual 50 minutes. The beans will be evenly soft and still hold their shape well if not stirred when the lid is first opened. Step 4 still involves stirring with sugar while keeping the lid open to monitor the beans and prevent them from breaking apart.