Have You Ever Tried Mochi?

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While eaten year round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. Mochi is also a popular snack in Hawaii and Taiwan.

I first discovered Mochi over 20 years ago. I'm always looking in supermarkets for new, unusual products. This was around the time that Whole Foods was becomming popular, and I think I first purchased it at Mrs. Goochs (now Whole Foods) in Sherman Oaks. It was a firm rectangele, about 1/2 inch thick. I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. There were no directions, no recipes. So I cut off a piece, stuck it in the toaster oven, and lo and behold, in about 5 minutes, I had a puffed up piece of mochi, cooked through, that was much like toast, which I love. I slathered it in butter, and ate it. It became a staple in my house for many years. It was just delicious, but I knew there must be more that could be done with mochi.

Since then, I have discovered some of the many uses for mochi. It is used in many traditional Japanese sweets. Daifuku is a soft round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, such as sweetened red bean paste or white bean paste. Ichigo daifuku is a version containing a whole strawberry inside.

A common, and delicious use for mochi is ice cream. Small balls of ice cream are wrapped inside a mochi covering to make mochi ice cream. Mochi ice cream is very popular in many U.S. states. You can find mochi ice cream at Trader Joe's and many Japanese specialty markets. Pinkberry, Red Mango and Yogurtland(my favorite) offer mochi as one of their toppings.

New Year specialities which use mochi include Zoni soup, Chikara udon, which consists of udon noodles in soup topped with toasted mochi, and Oshiruko, which is a sweet azuki bean soup with pieces of mochi.

Try the mochi ice cream at Trader Joe's if you want, or if you see it as a topping at one of the yogurt shops, just taste it. It's fun to try new foods. In a few weeks I will be attending the Food Expo in Anaheim, the largest natural and organic food show in the country. My son, Phil, will have a booth there, and I will go and take care of Lennon and walk the show. I always look forward to sampling the new products that are out there, and are amazed at what creative people come up with. I will write at least two blogs on the Food Expo, which takes place March 12, 13 and 14. In the meantime, give mochi a try. In March I'll have lots of new items to tell you about.