Σάββατο, Νοεμβρίου 08, 2014
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So what is mochi?
Mochi (餅) is a Japanese rice cake made out of glutinous rice pounded into a paste and molded into a shape. During the mochitsuki event in Japan, otherwise known as the mochi pounding ceremony, mochi is made. In Japan, it is a traditional food mainly eaten during the Japanese New Year, although it is served throughout the year. Mochi can be made savory and sweet.
The sweet version is known as Daifuku, which are round glutinous rice balls filled with sweet ingredients such as red bean or white bean paste.
Traditionally, mochi was made from whole rice, in a labor-intensive process. The traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan is Mochitsuki:
- Polished glutinous rice is soaked overnight and cooked.
- The cooked rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi. They must keep a steady rhythm or they may accidentally injure one another with the heavy kine or by a mochi machine.
- The sticky mass is then formed into various shapes (usually a sphere or cube).
Mochi can also be prepared from a flour of sweet rice (mochiko). The flour is mixed with water to a sticky opaque white mass that is cooked on the stovetop or in the microwave until it becomes elastic and slightly transparent.
