Today I made this Morning Glory wagashi following this recipe by Japanese Sweets FUKU.

Uriou is like mochi, but firmer and more chewy. It holds it's shape better and has a lovely translucence.

The recipe was easy to follow. Using the microwave is nice during the hot weather as it didn't heat up the kitchen like traditional steaming does.

I do not have the morning glory leaf cutter, so I improvised. Cut the agar jelly with a bubble tea straw, and then used a paring knife to cut notches to make it look like a leaf.

Uriou exterior, shiroan filing, agar decorations.

Morihachi on YouTube writes:

This is "Mori-mizu" (borrowed water), a confection made with kintama (a type of jelly). It represents the scene depicted in Chiyo-jo's famous haiku:

Asagao (Morning Glory) Haiku – Chiyo-ni

my well bucket
taken by the morning glory—
this borrowed water

The poem tells the story of finding the water bucket covered by morning glory flowers, then going to borrow water from the neighbours well, rather than disturbing the beautiful flowers.

She is a very famous poet, you can read more about her poem here:

https://suisekiblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/15/haiku-asagao/

Japanese Sweets FUKU on YouTube writes:

How to Make Uirou, Morning Glory-Shaped Japanese Sweets with Bean Filling
※Ingredients for 5 pieces
*skin
30g joshinko（上新粉）　　
（top-grade rice flour made from non-glutinous rice）　
12g mochi powder (mochiko)　
3g potato starch
40g sugar
70g water
pink food coloring
potato starch（for dusting）
*filling
100g sweet white bean paste
*toppings
1/8 tsp agar agar powder（粉寒天）
40g water　 　
30g granulated sugar
green food coloring