Mochi is a round bun that is made of soft chewy rice. The rice is steamed, pounded and mashed into a type of flour called mochigome or mochiko – hence the name, mochi. While usually sweet, at New Year celebrations, mochi is traditionally left unsweetened and cooked in a vegetable broth. We, however, prefer the sweet variety served with a cup of steaming hot tea! The dough is often delicately coloured with matcha (green tea powder) or other natural food colourings and wrapped around a centre of sweet red bean paste to create delicious bite-size cakes. And, the latest hot (or cold) trend is for them to be wrapped around mini-scoops of flavoured ice-cream. If you want to make your own, here’s a simple recipe that produces eight servings. Mochi also make perfect seasonal or birthday gifts.
Mochi
Course: SnacksCuisine: Cakes, JapaneseDifficulty: high8
mochis3
hours3
minutesIngredients
1 cup sweet red bean paste
1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko)
1 cup water
1 tsp matcha or green tea powder
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch for rolling
Instructions
- Wrap the sweet bean paste in foil and freeze for 3 hours. In a glass bowl, mix together the sweet rice flour, the green tea powder and the water, followed by the sugar. Cover with plastic wrap.
- Cook the mixture in a microwave for 3 and a half minutes. While cooking, divide the red bean paste into 8 equal balls and set aside. Stir the rice flour mixture and heat for a further 15 seconds.
- While the mochi dough is still hot from the microwave, knead together slightly and roll it out into eight equal-sized balls. Flatten them slightly and place 1 frozen red bean paste ball in the centre and carefully wrap the mochi over the paste until it is completely covered.
- Sprinkle with a little cornstarch and place seam side down in a muffin liner. Repeat until all the mochi dough and bean paste has been used.
Japanese delicacies in Singapore
If you like cooking cuisine from around the world, check out the foodpanda magazine for more tasty recipes or have mochi and other Japanese delicacies delivered from restaurants such as Mao Shan Wang Cafe by Four Seasons and Kyushu Pancake.