Mochi Recipe

Is a very soft and chewy glutinous rice ball with sweet bean filling. I like the super soft texture on my finger…because I tend to play with it first before eating it. It feels like the stress ball that you can squeeze and mold with you find at sporting good store, but a lot softer. It almost like the mochi that most frozen yogurt chain carried, only it softer and more tastier with filling.

The first time I had this was at a Korean bakery in Garden Grove. I was amazed that it looked so much like the Chinese version rice ball that we normally make during Chinese New Year just without the syrup. I knew I had to try it! And I tell you I can eat 3 or 4 of these at a time, because of it sweet and chewy texture with creamy red bean filling…I love anything that is chewy.

This is my very first time making this dessert. I was always very intermediated by the softness of the texture and never thought that I could succeed in it. Well I am here to tell you that it was a success! I found out the key ingredient that makes it soft even to the next day is the wheat starch…therefore this is a must add ingredient, forget this you will have a soft texture the first day and hard the next. And the plus is that it super easy and my kids love it. It helps because they do clean it up pretty fast, rescuing my waistline.


Ingredients:

1 Cup glutinous rice flour
3 Tbsp of wheat flour (makes it stay for a couple of days)
1 Cup of Water
½ Cup of Sugar or to taste
¼ Cup of corn starch for dusting

Filling:

Most time the filling are red bean paste, but I like to create my own flavor.
1 Cup of grated coconut
¼ Cup of palm sugar
1 Tbsp of black or white sesame seed
2 Tbsp of water
1 drop of food color (optional)

For the ice cream filling: To be continue...


Methods:

For the filling:
1. Put the palm sugar and the water in a pot and bring to boil. Then lower the heat to medium and let it thicken.
2. Add the coconut until the sugar is fully absorbed and there no more water left.
3. Stir in the sesame seed on low heat for a couple of minutes and remove let it cool.
4. Roll into quarter size ball and set aside.

For the mochi skins:
1. In a glass bowl, add the flour and water and stir well until completely blend.
2. Add the sugar and blend well.
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes.
4. Take out and stir well until it completely blend and turn to thick blob.
5. Cover plastic again and microwave for 30 seconds.
6. Take out stir again completely.
7. Take the corn starch and dust all over the cutting board.
8. Put the hot mochi mixture on it and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
9. Taking a piece the size of half dollar coin and make a ball.
10. Flatten the ball and knead the side to make it bigger, about the size of your palm.
11. Place the ball filling in the middle and cover all filling and then roll again into a ball.
12. Slightly flatten the ball to about ½ thick and dust with corn starch.
13. If you want you can make all kind of new flavor such as white and black sesame seeds.

You can serve this cool in the refrigerator or room temperature.

Enjoy!