Humphreys - Japanese Mochi Recipes: An Easy Guide to Japanese Sweet Mochi

A mochi is a Japanese dessert which is made of very glutinous rice. The rice is made into a paste form and then shaped in the desired way. Mochi in Japan is made in a traditional ceremony which is known as mochitsuki. This mochi is not only eaten at New Years Eve or during the New Year times but it is so common it is eaten all year long.

The traditional method of preparing the mochi was done by soaking the rice overnight and then steaming it. The steamed rice was then mashed by a traditional equipment that the Japanese had. They had to continuously mash and stir the mixture with 2 people alternatively performing this task very carefully. The mashed rice was then served and eaten immediately.

The modern preparation of mochi is comparatively easy and simple as no special equipment is required to finish this job. It can be easily done with utensils you have at home. The modern method involves preparing the mochi from the flour of sweet rice. The flour is mixed with the water and baking powder and then kept in the microwave for as long as it takes to set. It might take up to 2 minutes or sometimes may take more time. The sticky dough is removed from the microwave oven and allowed to set.

The next step depends upon the person making the mochi; you may want to roll out this mochi from the microwave oven and dust with potato starch to eat plain and simple or you may wish to make it fancier and tastier by making a nice filling to go with it.

There are various kinds of fillings that can be made to go along with this Japanese mochi. For instance, it can be filled with either a cream cheese filling, or a dark chocolate filling, Nutella chocolate filling, raspberry jam filling, strawberry jam filling, chocolate chip filling, butter filling, whole strawberry filling, a nice filling of cheese or it can be served plain as well. Traditionally, mochi was served just by itself which is the most basic preparation.