Mochi is a delicious sweet snack, mainly found in Japan, although other east Asian countries have similar desserts with different names.
I love it - it's not too sweet and milk mochi in particular is very pillowy and soft in texture.
It is becoming a popular snack all around the world - in many supermarkets in North America, for example, you can find frozen 'ice cream' mochi (the ice cream is found on the inside).
In Ireland, you can buy mochi from Asia Market online; they deliver nationwide and have a wide variety of flavours to try if you are new to mochi.
I order Asian foodstuffs online regularly as, living in rural Ireland, it's not always easy to find speciality ingredients.
The last time I ordered, I decided to buy some glutinous rice flour. This is the main ingredients in mochi. I had been seeing videos online about how to make mochi in the microwave and they piqued my interest!
I once tried to pound rice cake dough the traditional way, while living in Korea years ago, but everyone watching laughed at my feeble attempt. It required extreme strength!
I was looking at different mochi recipes to try out and found a straightforward microwaveable recipe for milk mochi.
I mean, I live on a dairy farm, so it was decided pretty quickly that this would be the mochi to make!
I changed the recipe slightly to add in Irish butter as well for added richness. It didn't disappoint!
Milk mochi is a bit more velvety in texture than other types, which tend to be soft but chewy. You'd want to eat it on the same day or it will get sticky.
The dough starts out watery and ends up coming together as you work it - pounding with a rolling pin is necessary, as is stirring, whisking and kneading by hand.
Eventually, the dough is rolled out on to a cornfloured surface and portioned using a pastry scraper.
The dough will still be a bit sticky while warm, so letting it cool to room temperature before rolling it in either cocoa, icing sugar or matcha powder is essential for eating.
Janine's milk mochi are not as pretty as the ones you find in Asian shops, but it tastes delicious - not too sweet, soft and marshmallowy in texture. / Janine Kennedy
Makes eight to 10 pieces
Ingredients
180g glutinous rice flour (it has to be glutinous; regular rice flour will not work here)
60g caster sugar
250ml milk
10g cornflour (plus more for dusting)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp softened butter
Mild tasting oil (like vegetable) as needed
Icing sugar for dusting (you can also use cocoa powder or matcha green tea)
Directions:
1 In a microwaveable glass bowl, add the glutinous rice flour and sugar. Mix.
2 Gradually add in the milk (I did it in three parts), stirring after each addition. The resulting mixture will be watery in appearance. If it's very lumpy, whisk briskly for a few second to break up the lumps.
3 Cover with cling film and microwave on high for one minute.
4 Remove from the microwave and add the cornflour (10g). Whisk to incorporate fully into the mixture. Replace the cling film over top and microwave another one to two minutes (my microwave took two minutes).
5 Remove from the microwave and remove the clingfilm. The mixture should be firming around the sides of the bowl but still watery in the centre (see video for visual aid). Using a spatula or wooden spoon, bring the dough together into a clumpy ball. This will take a few minutes.
6 Once you have something resembling a dough, start pounding the dough with the end of a wooden rolling pin or a mortar and pestle (if you don't have either, just use the wooden spoon to do this - it might take longer). Pound the dough for about five minutes, until it's looking smooth and many of the lumps are removed.
7 Add the vanilla and rub the soft butter into your hands before working it through the dough by hand. Knead the dough by hand for five to six minutes or use a spatula if it's too sticky. The dough will start looking smooth and will still be sticky, but will form into a ball.
8 Add a bit of oil around the sides of the bowl as needed and work the dough into a smooth ball.
9 Let cool completely.
10 Generously dust your work surface with cornflour and bring the dough out on to the floured surface. Work the dough by hand a bit and then, using a pastry scraper, shape it into a rectangle and cut into eight to 10 portions.
11 Roll each portion in icing sugar and immediately enjoy.
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Mochi is a delicious sweet snack, mainly found in Japan, although other east Asian countries have similar desserts with different names.
I love it - it's not too sweet and milk mochi in particular is very pillowy and soft in texture.
It is becoming a popular snack all around the world - in many supermarkets in North America, for example, you can find frozen 'ice cream' mochi (the ice cream is found on the inside).
In Ireland, you can buy mochi from Asia Market online; they deliver nationwide and have a wide variety of flavours to try if you are new to mochi.
I order Asian foodstuffs online regularly as, living in rural Ireland, it's not always easy to find speciality ingredients.
The last time I ordered, I decided to buy some glutinous rice flour. This is the main ingredients in mochi. I had been seeing videos online about how to make mochi in the microwave and they piqued my interest!
I once tried to pound rice cake dough the traditional way, while living in Korea years ago, but everyone watching laughed at my feeble attempt. It required extreme strength!
I was looking at different mochi recipes to try out and found a straightforward microwaveable recipe for milk mochi.
I mean, I live on a dairy farm, so it was decided pretty quickly that this would be the mochi to make!
I changed the recipe slightly to add in Irish butter as well for added richness. It didn't disappoint!
Milk mochi is a bit more velvety in texture than other types, which tend to be soft but chewy. You'd want to eat it on the same day or it will get sticky.
The dough starts out watery and ends up coming together as you work it - pounding with a rolling pin is necessary, as is stirring, whisking and kneading by hand.
Eventually, the dough is rolled out on to a cornfloured surface and portioned using a pastry scraper.
The dough will still be a bit sticky while warm, so letting it cool to room temperature before rolling it in either cocoa, icing sugar or matcha powder is essential for eating.
Janine's milk mochi are not as pretty as the ones you find in Asian shops, but it tastes delicious - not too sweet, soft and marshmallowy in texture. / Janine Kennedy
Makes eight to 10 pieces
Ingredients
180g glutinous rice flour (it has to be glutinous; regular rice flour will not work here)
60g caster sugar
250ml milk
10g cornflour (plus more for dusting)
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp softened butter
Mild tasting oil (like vegetable) as needed
Icing sugar for dusting (you can also use cocoa powder or matcha green tea)
Directions:
1 In a microwaveable glass bowl, add the glutinous rice flour and sugar. Mix.
2 Gradually add in the milk (I did it in three parts), stirring after each addition. The resulting mixture will be watery in appearance. If it's very lumpy, whisk briskly for a few second to break up the lumps.
3 Cover with cling film and microwave on high for one minute.
4 Remove from the microwave and add the cornflour (10g). Whisk to incorporate fully into the mixture. Replace the cling film over top and microwave another one to two minutes (my microwave took two minutes).
5 Remove from the microwave and remove the clingfilm. The mixture should be firming around the sides of the bowl but still watery in the centre (see video for visual aid). Using a spatula or wooden spoon, bring the dough together into a clumpy ball. This will take a few minutes.
6 Once you have something resembling a dough, start pounding the dough with the end of a wooden rolling pin or a mortar and pestle (if you don't have either, just use the wooden spoon to do this - it might take longer). Pound the dough for about five minutes, until it's looking smooth and many of the lumps are removed.
7 Add the vanilla and rub the soft butter into your hands before working it through the dough by hand. Knead the dough by hand for five to six minutes or use a spatula if it's too sticky. The dough will start looking smooth and will still be sticky, but will form into a ball.
8 Add a bit of oil around the sides of the bowl as needed and work the dough into a smooth ball.
9 Let cool completely.
10 Generously dust your work surface with cornflour and bring the dough out on to the floured surface. Work the dough by hand a bit and then, using a pastry scraper, shape it into a rectangle and cut into eight to 10 portions.
11 Roll each portion in icing sugar and immediately enjoy.
Read more
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