MUNG BEAN MOCHI / KUIH MOCI - A TASTE OF JAPAN

Mochi is a traditional Japanese delicacy, and is now a popular Nyonya kuih.The term "mochi" means rice cake in Japanese and this kuih is made from starchy steamed rice that is formed into a sticky dough and shaped like a flat cake or like a small balls.


My first encounter with mochi was during my trip to Akashi, Japan. Colleagues from Japan took me to a confectionery and bought a few packets as a gift to take home. The texture of mohi is sticky and elastic. Sweet with different variation of fillings/ the most common fillings are red beans and mung beans. This is also my first attempt adapted from Christine's Recipe blog. I used the leftover mung beans paste from my Ang Ku kuih. Much to my delight they turned out great.


You can use your creativity with mochi and try a few color and a few fillings, some fresh fruits like strawberries and mangoes can be tempting, or you can even coat your mochi with sesame seed or what so ever. As a start I would suggest you use Christine's Recipe. Though it is hard to shape the balls as the mixture is sticky but it is fun doing. Mochi is truly marvelous.

   

INGREDIENTS

220 gm glutinous rice flour / 220 gm tepung pulut - lebih kurang 2 cawan

110 gm sugar / 110 gm gula pasir/ lebih kurang 1 cawan

200 ml coconut milk (or milk) / 200 ml santan - (l kotak santan Kara)

desiccated coconut (or fried glutinous rice flour) to coat mochi / Kelapa kering atau tepung beras yang disangrai

PREPARATION

1. Combine glutinous rice flour with sugar well. Gradually stir in coconut milk (or milk) until smooth./ Satukan tepung pulut dan gula, gaul rata. masukkan santan dan kacau sehingga adunan menjadi licin.
2. Transfer flour mixture in a greased shallow plate (see picture 1), steam over high heat with cover for 30 minutes, or until cooked through (see picture 2). Use a chop stick to test if it’s cooked. If not much flour mixture sticks to the chop stick, it’s done. Let cool down a bit until you don’t feel too hot to handle./Masukan adunan kedalam loyang yang cetek dan kukus selama 20 minit. gunakan chop stick untuk memeriksa samada adunan telah masak atau tidak. Kalau adunan tidak melekat bermakna adunan telah masak. Angkat dan sejukkan sebentar.
3. Transfer to a greased surface. Cut into 12 even small portions. Knead each into a small disc. Spoon mung bean paste in the middle (see picture 4). Fold the edge to seal the mochi. Lightly roll it into a ball shape using both palms, then coat with desiccated coconut. The alternative way to coat mochi is to use cooked glutinous rice flour. Fry some extra glutinous rice flour on a non-stick frying-pan over medium-low heat without any oil. Let it cook for 3 minutes until aromatic. Don’t let it burn by all means. After the cooked flour cools down a bit, you can use it to coat mochi./ Bahagikan adunan kepada 12 bahagian. Leperkan dan masukkan inti. Balutkan dan bentukkan seperti bebola kecil. Salutkan bebola mochi ini ke dalam kelapa kering. Jika tidak mahu gunakkan kelapa kering bolehlah gunakan tepung pulut yang disangrai terlebih dahulu.

For Mung Bean Paste please refer to my older post on Ang Ku Kuih.

THE STEPS OF MAKING MOCHI

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Mochi adalah kuih traditional Jepun yang kini menjadi salah satu kuih popular Nyonya. Mochi dalam bahada jepun bermakna kuih beras. Kuih ini boleh disamakan dengan dodol kita, manis, lemak dan liat-liat. Diperbuat daripada tepung pulut dan mempunyai beberapa variasi inti. Lazimnya inti yang menjadi kegemaran ialah kacang merah ataupun kacang hijau.


Saya mula diperkenalkan dengan kuih ini ketika berada di Akashi Jepun. Teman-teman telah membekalkan beberapa paket mochi yang beraneka inti untuk dibawa pulang ke Malaysia. Ini adalah percubaan pertama membuat mochi. Saya menggunakan resipi Christine Recipi sebagai panduan.  Ternyata mudah dan berhasil. untuk intinya saya menggunakan inti lebihan daripada inti Kuih Ku. Bagi yang berminat anda boleh mempelbagaikan bentuk, warna dan inti mengikut citarasa masing-masing.

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Next Post - Kopitiam Toast Top With Half Boiled Eggs

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