Mochi - A Sweet Japanese Rice Cake

If you are a sweet lover and looking for some new kind of sweet dish, then here is one dish for you to fulfill demand of your taste buds - Mochi.

What is Mochi ?

Mochi is Japanese dish which is very popular among Japanese people. It is  rice cake made up of short-grain Japonica glutinous rice. It is sweet in taste and very delicious. It includes other ingredients such as water, sugar and corn starch. It is prepared by  pounding of rice grain into paste and then moulded into desired shape.

Mochi is often prepared on the occasion of new year ceremony in Japan. This dish is being consumed by people in Japan since 300 BC.

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How Is It Prepared ?

Mochi is made from two main components, water and mochigome, a short grained glutinous rice. Before beginning the process, sweet, glutinous rice is washed and soaked two days before steaming of rice. Mochi making process involves making dough from rice flour i.e. mochigome flour. This dough is pounded with wooden mallet called akine. As the dough becomes enough soft and sticky it is put in a hot water and then hammered to some more.

Pounding of Rice Grains

Types of mochi

1. Kirimochi

Kirimochi is block of mochi which is cut into rectangular shapes. This is unsweetened ( no sugar is added) type of mochi. It can be added in various dishes.

2. Sakuramochi 

Sakuramochi is a very sweet, pink coloured mochi which is very popular in Japan. It is usually sold during spring time i.e. during season of cherry  blossom. This pink coloured mochi is wrapped in a salty cherry leaf.

3. Difuku

Difukumochi, or Difuku, is a Japanese confection consisting of a small round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, most commonly anko, sweetened red bean paste made from azuki beans. Difuku comes in many varieties. The most common is white-, pale green-, or pale pink-colored mochi filled with anko.Mochi and difuku are very popular in Japan. All difuku are covered in a fine layer of corn or potato starch to keep them from sticking to each other, or to the fingers.

4. Kagamimochi

Kagami means "mirror" in Japanese. Kagamimochi is named so because it is traditionally broken and eaten during the ritual of mirror opening. It is used as a decoration for new year.

5. Hanabiramochi

In Japanese, "Hanabira" means "flower petals". Hanabiramochi, this is a name given to mochi because it looks like flower petals. Red beans and burdock root filling are covered by thin layer of white mochi in semicircular fashion which gives it appearance of pinkish flower petals.

6. Mochi Ice Cream

Mochi ice is similar to difuku and mochi is stretched on outside portion. But the inside portion of mochi is filled with ice cream. Wow...What a combination of rice cake and ice cream ! Just imagine.

Along with these, there are many other types of mochi..These were just to make you aware about the variety of a single mochi.

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