Mochi is a chewy Japanese dessert made from short grain, glutinous rice, which dates back to at least the 6th century. It’s traditionally made in conjunction with the New Year, but is also common at celebrations such as Girls’ Day and the spring cherry blossom festival.
The traditional method for making mochi is to pound steamed rice until it becomes a paste (think of what happens to mashed potatoes if you whip them for too long), and then form it into cakes. But these days, it’s more common for folks use sweet rice flour (“mochiko”), along with water, sugar, and corn or potato starch—which is far easier to do and tastes great.
Since the Cherry Blossom Festival was
just last week here on the Big Island up in Waimea, I thought it an
appropriate time to provide you all with this simple and delicious
recipe. (And the pink version would make for a lovely Valentine's Day treat!)
Mochi will last 2-3 days on the counter (after which time it will rapidly mold). It can be refrigerated, but will lose much of its silky texture if you do so, so it’s best to simply eat it quickly!
Mochi
(makes one 10" x 14" pan or two 8" x 8" pans)
Ingredients
1 16-oz. box mochiko (sweet rice flour)
2 ½ cups white sugar
1 can coconut milk (about 13.5-oz.)
2 cups water
food coloring (optional)
oil for greasing pan
½ cup corn starch
½ cup powdered sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10" x 14" pan, or two 8" x 8" pans, then cover bottom with parchment paper and brush on more oil. (The mochi really wants to stick.)
(I had only one large pan, but wanted two different colors of mochi, so I crafted a barrier out of aluminum foil, which worked well. But I neglected to use parchment paper, which made removing the mochi after it was cooked rather difficult.)
Mix together in a large bowl the mochiko, sugar, coconut milk, and water until smooth and no lumps remain. (A wire whisk works well for this.)
If using food coloring, add it now. You can divide the batter into two bowls, and color each separately as I did. It took 1 drop of red coloring for the pink mochi, and 2 drops of green coloring for the green.
Pour the batter into your baking pan(s), cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake about 60 minutes—until the mochi is cooked all the way through and firm to the touch.
Remove from the oven and let the mochi
cool. (Notice how much brighter the colors became after baking.)
While the mochi is cooling, mix together the cornstarch and powdered sugar. Sprinkle some of the cornstarch/sugar mixture onto a large cutting board (as if you were doing so with flour to knead bread).
Once the mochi is completely cool, sprinkle it generously with the cornstarch/sugar mixture, and then use a spatula to remove it from the pan onto the cutting board.
Cut the mochi into strips about an inch wide and 2 inches long, dusting with the cornstarch/sugar mixture as needed to keep it from sticking together. (A pizza cutter works great for this.)
Once the pieces are all cut, toss them in the cornstarch/sugar bowl so they’re completely covered with the mixture.
Meshiagare!
🌿 🍷 🌱
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Orchid Isle Mystery #1
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“Karst’s first Orchid Isle novel is part murder mystery, part vividly evocative, colorful sketch of Hawaii and its history, geography, tradition, culture, food, language, and people. Armchair travelers and mystery aficionados alike will find it entertaining.”
Booklist
This first book in my brand-new Orchid Isle mystery series features retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen who, on a trip to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions when a hike to an active lava flow turns deadly.
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Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops,
the Law, and Cooking for RBG
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