I don't remember clearly the first time I tried
mochi--a chewy, rice-based Japanese foodstuff. I do remember, though, that I was immediately taken with its smooth texture and squishy-bouncy gumminess. And let's not forget its charmingly chubby roundness! Observe:
Before I decided to try making mochi myself, this is what I always pictured when I thought of mochi. However, as I recently learned, the darling dumpling is only one of the many shapes of mochi. Mochi is also cut into squares and nibs, molded into elaborate shapes, folded, and just pulled into uneven pieces.
Moreover, not all mochi is sweetened. Mochi can be eaten fresh or grilled with soy sauce, dropped into soup just before serving, or mixed with just about any favorite food you'd eat with rice. Mochi can even be cooked in a waffle iron, producing what some like to call a "
moffle."
The form I first encountered, however, and the one that's still my favorite (although I can by no means say I've tried them all), is the pudgy little ball stuffed with sweet filling--so that's what I decided to try to make.
Small, round, filled mochi are generally called
daifuku. They can be filled with a wide variety of things, from ice cream to pumpkin to sesame paste, but one of the most traditional fillings for daifuku mochi--and one of my favorite flavors in East Asian desserts--is red bean, in the form of a sweetened paste called
an or
anko. The mochi itself can also be flavored with jam, extracts, or powders like cocoa or matcha (green tea powder), but I thought I should try my hand at plain mochi before going on to any of the many variations. Since red bean paste is commonly paired with unflavored mochi, that combination seemed a natural choice for my first attempt.
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