もち. Easy, ugly, tasty

This reminds me of a commercial years ago for rice crispy cereal squares. They take minutes to make, but the mother would make all sorts of crashing and banging sounds in the kitchen while reading a book and then throw a bit of flour on her face to make it look like she slaved over the food for ages.

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yum! I’ve never made it but you reminded me I bought some today and it is waiting for me in the fridge! My favorite is plain without any filling.

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I live in a just big enough town to have a few small corner markets around: there are a dozen region’s foods crammed into one market, but it is still better than nothing.

I remember the first time that I visited California found Chinese, Korean, and Japanese supermarkets. It makes you aware of how different the demographics across the U.S. is.

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Success! We cooked up this batch Saturday night and were happy to serve it at my (pregnant) sister’s gender reveal party.

As many of you can probably tell that’s adzuki paste. Then we dusted some with a mix of kinako and brown sugar.

Much easier than the first time I tried (from flour) using that “One Cookbook” recipe above. Next time I make it though I’ll keep a close eye on the water level for the rice because any dryness in the cooked rice will slow down the mixing process which can be problematic if the mochi cools too much. Also for managing heat, I’ll probably warm my stand mixer’s bowl with boiling water (then dry it) before mixing the cooked rice.

Thanks for the tips and guidance @RoseWagsBlue and others

Oh and while they aren’t super cheap, investing in a stand mixer pays off in my opinion. They are such a workhorse and the popular Kitchen-Aid models are really built well to last. I would look at getting a refurb on Amazon (like I did for my vacuum) if I didn’t already own one. It’s much more than a mixer especially when you consider the attachment system.

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Very nice results!
I am skeptical of new appliances, but a stand mixer has become an essential in our kitchen. I would guess that it gets used more than 100 times each year.

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Here I go.
I got me some plum filling.
I got me some 糯米.
Making もち today!

(it is so nice that I can use わにかに as my own private recipe book. Plus I can look back over the videos and experiences that others have posted. )

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So far one of my wife’s favourites. :slight_smile:

Good luck and enjoy the results!

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I will take photos. I think that I will go into work for a little this morning then do it in the afternoon.

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I have a certain tolerance for mess. With the caveat that each time that I repeat an activity, I consider how to make it more efficient, and produce less mess.

The first time that I made mochi, I was so impressed with myself for doing it and for not needing a hammer of the gods to do it, that I failed to notice how intrinsically linked the mess is to the finished product.

Mochi is rice glue. To make mochi is to open a glue factory in your kitchen. Any thing that the mochi touches, including any dishes and cleaning utensils, become gluey. Then the glue transfers to whatever you use to clean that glue off.

Please, everyone, the next time that I decide to make mochi, send me for store bought.

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Hahaha! Hope they were as delicious as you hoped for, though!

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Yes, yummy. But the store bought are yummy too. :yum:

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Note to self:

Either eat store-bought mochi, or trick Rosewags into making it.

Check. :ballot_box_with_check:

Now I want mochi, but the place that sells my favourite isn’t close enough to be convenient.

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I did make it.
But I don’t think it would ship well. :slight_smile:

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I found a store that has both shiratamako and mochiko. My plan this week is to make anko filled ones and plain ones, using the justonecookbook.com recipes for anko and mochi.

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Good luck. :slight_smile: It really is an amazing process.

baking thread!!!

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I was delighted to see this thread when it first popped up, which gave me a strong craving for mochi; happily I discovered earlier this year that my local supermarket had started stocking a few different flavours of daifuku mochi. I then learned that there was such a thing as a mochi-making machine, and since my mochi-consumption had grown to the point of (sort of) justifying it, I decided to buy one.

I had to translate the instructions, but finally last night I got far enough along in that process that I could make my first batch! The consistency of the final product was tougher and stickier than I had expected, but I guess I’ll have time to experiment.

Way too many photos of the process...

The rice (nearly a whole bag to make the minimum amount of mochi) at the end of its 12 hour soaking:

Into the machine:

The machine itself:

Pounded mochi (you can see the texture is not all that smooth :slightly_frowning_face:)

Mochi-chopping gizmo so I don’t burn my hands or get them coated in stickiness:

Mochi blob about to get the chop:

Filling with red beans:

End product - nearly 3 dozen ugly, ugly daifuku mochi :yum:

I’ll try an even longer soak and the max amount of water for steaming for the next batch to see if I can get a smoother, softer consistency.

Thanks @RoseWagsBlue for the inspiring post!

P.S. Thanks also to @tugboatcaptain for the link to the JustOneCookbook site.

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I really want to have one of these :heart_eyes:

Nevermind the outer appearances, how do they taste, though? I bet they are amazing!

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Taste is good, but they are a bit too tough and chewy - not the mouth-feel I love about professionally-made mochi. Ah well, I guess I’ll just have to eat them all so I can practice some more!

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