I've tried several mochi recipes (steaming, cooking in balls in boiling water) to make for a Girl Scout event. Of the three recipes I've tried, I found this one is the best. I lived in Japan for a year and found that this recipe has a great, soft texture. I added two drops of red food coloring (which looks like traditional Japanese mochi). You could also add two drops of green food coloring as well. Traditional Japanese mochi is usually pink, green and white. I LOVED the powder that is used in this mochi recipe. I do not like using plain cornstarch (has a chalky feel), so the addition of sugar and salt made it perfect! I can say that if it is cooked too long you will get hard corners (I'd use the shortest cooking time). I used an 8 x 8 glass baking dish. If you don't have a plastic knife, just dip your knife in the powder before each cut. I found that this worked well. Also, mochi is kept at room temperature. So, do not put in the refrigerator, or else you will get hard mochi. Good luck!
this was tasty and the texture was just like in the stores but, beware your cooking times. the first batch i made ended up with a hard top layer because i micro-waved it for too long. to add some flavor i added a couple of drops of coconut extract and that was yummy. next time i think i'll roll them in shredded coconut or add red bean ;) ******** i tried this a second time and got perfect results. what did i do better? i cut the microwave time down to 6 minutes, i substituted a couple of drops vegetable oil for the vinegar and i rolled the finished mochi in powdered sugar instead of starch. perfecto!
When I first started making it it was a pasty liquid so I thought I might have done something wrong but alas! it's supposed to be like that! it will harden as it cooks so I just thought I would add that if anyone else had the same doubts I did. I only used 1/4 cup splenda(1/4 cup=1/2cup sugar) and it tasted... not bland but not sweet. However when i rolled it in coconut it tasted absolutely delicious. I omitted the potato starch just because I dont like the dry taste it gives it. I tried to make mochi ice cream out of this but my mochi pieces were too thick so to those who also want to try this or fill it with anything (including adzuki bean) i would recommend making two batches but with the same amount of ingredients that way it's thinner and easier to roll and fill.
it was pretty good but i found that halving the sugar in the mochi itself and not putting any in the starch was better. i didn't have potato starch so i used tapioca starch instead.
Cook in increments of two mintues and turn it each time or you will get hard mochi on the edges. Hard mochi=not tasty
Great versatile recipe, thanks for posting. It is VERY GOOD with one change: try subbing 1 c. of coconut milk for 1 c. of the water. I ate that whole batch in one day BY MYSELF. Another good version: try adding 3T sifted cocoa for chocolate mochi.
Great recipe. You can also use a pizza cutter to slice up the mochi. I simply dusted a cutting board with potato starch "peeled" the mochi onto the board from an 8x8 pyrex dusted it with more starch and then used a pizza cutter to cut it up. After cutting it I dusted it again to get into the cracks separate the pieces and dust it in the extra starch and then it can be stored.
This recipe is pretty darned good and very easy. For traditional mochi to serve with azuki beans I would decrease the sugar even by half. I added a few drops of canola oil and a few drops of vanilla. I microwaved 3 minutes on low 3 minutes on medium and 3 minutes on high. Didn't have potato starch so I rolled it in powdered sugar. The original recipe tastes sweet more like manju. All in all easy and delicious! Fresh is definitely better than buying store bought or making mochi (pounding) the traditional way. My Japanese grandmother is probably turning over in her grave...
This worked really well. I didn't have potato starch so I mixed 1 cup shredded coconut w/ 1/8 cup sugar and a pinch of salt. I also added green food coloring.
