Mochi is a dish with a firm root in Japanese culture. While eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year, considered to be a “food of the Gods” and a symbol of good fortune, health and happy marriages. Also known as a rice cake, mochi is a round, chewy and slightly sweet Japanese snack made from a short-grain glutinous rice known as mochigome. Mochi can also be made with glutinous rice flour or steamed brown rice, as well as the addition of sugar, water and cornstarch.
Despite using glutinous rice, mochi is gluten-free and traditionally vegan. Using glutinous rice is important, as it is low in amylose starch and high in amylopectin starch, and what gives mochi its soft and bouncy texture. By itself, mochi is relatively flavorless with a texture that is a gooey combination of rice and dough. However, when mixed with other ingredients such as sugar and a sweet red bean paste known as anko, it becomes a delicious and rather delicate treat.
Mochi dough is often tinted with matcha or other food colorings and wrapped around a sweet center to form a small, bite-sized confection. Traditional mochi is filled with anko, but in a more modernized version, pastel-colored mochi dough is wrapped around mini scoops of ice cream. Mochi ice cream is by far the most popular variation of this traditional Japanese snack with flavors like chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, mango, coffee and green tea. Mochi can also be grilled, baked or fried and has a wide range of styles and flavors that can be paired with a variety of meals. Alone, mochi is a staple food in Japanese cuisine, but it also acts as an important ingredient in many Japanese foods such as desserts, savory soups and hot pot dishes.
The production of mochi has been passed down for centuries. The technique usually consists of pounding the glutinous rice until it becomes like a gelatinous ball. The rice is pounded into a paste and molded to the desired shape during this pounding ritual called mochitsuki. Though the date of the original creation of mochi is difficult to pin down, archaeologists have discovered mochi-making tools that date all the way back to the Kofun Period (250 to 538 AD). The modern method continues the tradition of cooking the glutinous rice and then beating it into mochi, but in a less labor-intensive way. After cooking the rice, it can be placed into a modern mochi-making appliance that does the pounding for you. In a more industrial setting, there are machines that cut and shape, too.
Fresh mochi is difficult to store because it quickly begins to mold if left at room temperature for longer than one or two days maximum. Fresh mochi should not be stored in the refrigerator, as it will become hard and not usable. Instead, wrap each mochi cake tightly in a sealed plastic bag and quickly store fresh mochi in the freezer. Mochi can be cooked without first defrosting. While mochi can be kept in a freezer for almost one year, the frozen mochi may lose flavor and softness. Food additives, such as modified tapioca starch, can also extend the shelf life of mochi.
The popularity of this common Japanese dish has now traveled across the world. Mochi is now available in a variety of forms and tastes, and it continues to leave a lasting impression on those who consume it.
