Even though I'm a Yonsei or Fourth Generation Japanese American, my Japanese roots have not been lost! We still carry the tradition of "Mochitsuki" or pounding of mochi or rice cakes every year. Mochi is definitely a must for any Japanese New Year or "Oshogatsu" celebration.
The process of making mochi is pretty labor intensive but it really gets the whole family involved because everyone can help. It's fun to form the mochi patties and wait in anticipation to eat our first cooked batch that we dip in sweet soy sauce. It’s not worth doing unless you have a mochi maker which you can purchase on Amazon. Mine is a hand-me-down from my Aunt but I’d recommend this one. If you really want to do it "old school", after the rice is cooked, you would dump it into a usu, or mortar, made from a wood stump, stone or concrete form. Then the hot cooked rice in the usu is pounded with a kine or wooden mallet. With much force, the mochi is pounded until the mass of rice is smooth and shiny, with no lumpy grains of rice showing.
Here’s my advice for making mochi:
1. Don't use old rice
2. Don't mix the rice with any other type of rice
3. Make sure you are only using the measuring cup that came with your rice cooker if you are going with the 2 cups of water vs the measured water option.
Mochi
Ingredients
- 3 lbs of mochigome rice (sweet short-grain sweet rice) per batch
- 400 ml or 13.5 oz water, or 2 japanese cups provided with the mochi maker
- 1 box of mochiko (sweet rice flour)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 cup soy sauce
- Dark chocolate chips for filling
- Strawberry extract - if your extract is not colored, you can add 1 drop of red food coloring to color the mochi pink
- 1 can Adzuke beans
Instructions
- In a large bowl, measure out 3 lbs (approx 6 cups) of mochigome rice. Use a scale to be more precise. Run water over the rice and take bunches of the rice in your hands to release all of the residue. The water will be milky in color. Drain the water and repeat about 6-7 times until the water runs clear. Cover the rice about 1 inch above the top with water. Let it soak for of 8-12 hours or overnight. Do not soak more than 24 hours.
- Drain the rice in a bamboo colander or a strainer that the rice will not fall through. Let sit for a minimum of 30 minutes to continue draining. Thoroughly draining will insure successful steaming.
- Add 400 ml of water to the bottom of the mochi maker. Most mochi makers use the metric system which is why we use ml here. You can also use 2.2 cups of water but only if you are using the Japanese cup that is provided with your mochi maker. Japanese cups are smaller than a normal US cup size.
- Place the bowl on top of the water well and turn to tighten.
- Attach the mixing blade into the bowl.
- Add the drained rice to the mochi maker, even out the top but do not press down. Put the lid on, select the steam setting and press start.
- Let it steam for about 45 minutes until the buzzer goes off. Remove the lid and pinch one grain of rice to make sure it's soft all the way through.
- If you want to flavor your mochi, add 1 tsp of extract and 6 drops of food coloring (if lets say you are making strawberry mochi and you want it to be pink and strawberry flavored) to the rice now.
- Add the cover back on and push the pound button.
- While the rice is pounding, spread mochiko out on a big surface - like a kitchen table or the countertop where you have plenty of room.
- After about 10 minutes, when the mochi is done pounding, it will look like a large, gelatinous and smooth surfaced ball. Turn the mochi maker off.
- Turn the bowl of mochi out on the mochiko so that it doesn’t stick. If the mochi sticks to the bowl, use a rubber spatula to remove.
- Immediately start cutting the hot mochi with a pizza cutter. Make long 2 1/2 inch strips and cut the strips into small 2 1/2 inch pieces.
- Have lots of people help you here as the mochi will start to harden and you will want to form patties before it cools. Form into round patties by pushing the mochi under itself to form a smooth small round patty. Pinch the underside so that it's completely smooth.
- If you are making flavored mochi, here is when you would fill the patties with a couple of dark chocolate chips or a teaspoon of adzuke beans by flattening your patty into a larger circle, then folding the mochi under the filling until none is showing. These flavored mochi can be eaten raw or broiled to make puffy and hot.
- You'll probably have close to 80 patties to eat when you are finished.
- Preheat oven to Broil or 400 degrees, your choice.
- Make the dipping sauce with sugar and soy sauce. Mix together until incorporated.
- Sprinkle some mochiko on a cookie sheet or use a silpat or aluminum foil with cooking spray on your sheet and spread out the patties so they have enough room to puff up without touching each other.
- Broil on the bottom rack for about 5 minutes or at 400 degrees on the top rack until puffy and golden brown. Watch closely so they do not burn as ovens vary.
- While the mochi is cooking prepare your dipping sauce by combining the soy sauce and the sugar until it looks like a thin paste.
- Serve hot and enjoy with the dipping sauce or enjoy the flavored mochi raw.
- Place unused and cooled patties in zip lock bags and either freeze for up to 1 months or store at room temp for up to 2 days. Once frozen, the mochi cannot be eaten raw, it must be broiled and heated up.
Mochi Making Through the Years