This darling Japanese dessert cookbook comes out in November, just in time for the holiday gifting season. I’m delighted to get a sneak peek at Mochi Magic: 50 Traditional and Modern Recipes for the Japanese Treat (via Amazon).
(Disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.)
As a hobby, I sometimes play with molding little creatures out of almond paste (marzipan), edible dough, and chocolate. I’ve never worked with Mochi before, and I’m eager to try. Now that we’re in quarantine I have extra time at home and in the kitchen, so I’m excited to look through Mochi Magic. (This book doesn’t come out until November 24 – ooh, this might make a perfect Christmas present for the Japanophile in my life!)
Inside, the book is just as cute and colorful as I was hoping.
Chapters include:
- Mochi-Making Basics
- Daifuku (Filled Mochi) The Dough)
- Daifuku (Filled Mochi) The Fillings)
- Decorating Mochi
- A New Year’s Tradition: Pounded Mochi
- Odango: Balls of Fun
- Baked Mochi
Let’s take a quick sneak peek inside, shall we?
The author explains that “Mochi is a form of sticky rice cake made from sweet (glutinous) Japanese short-grain rice called mochigome.” You can eat it on its own with a bit of soy sauce, or sweeten it with fillings. You can also use mochi flour to bake desserts like cakes, pastries and brownies. I had no idea! I really appreciated and enjoyed the next section on the history of mochi and how it is used in Japanese festivals. The author shares a bit about her life cooking and using mochi with her mother – very sweet!
The Mochi Basics chapter introduces us to ingredients that might be a bit unfamiliar to us: Adzuki beans, Shiro-an (a white bean paste), tsubu-an and koshi-an. The author educates us on sweet rice and sweet rice flour and how it’s used in the mochi making process. Next up is how to dust and flavor mochi using matcha, sesame seeds, cornstarch, agar powder, black sesame seeds or a yellow flower called kinako. I really appreciate that each section is accompanied by a photo of the ingredients so you know the way they are supposed to look.
The chapter also includes info on tools you’ll need in your kitchen to work with mochi. Next, you learn how to how to make steamed mochi, microwaved mochi, pounded mochi, boiled mochi, and baked mochi.
The second chapter covers making and filling the mochi dough. The explanations are easy to follow, and I so appreciate the step-by-step photos of what the mochi should look like during various steps of the process. I especially liked the photos showing you how to fill and shape mochi by hand. The chapter continues with a yummy-sounding recipe for Strawberries and Nutella Mochi. There’s a chocolate mochi recipe, one for matcha mochi, and even an inventive Japanese plum wine mochi. I’m not a fan of rose water flavor, so I’ll skip the Rose Water Mochi, personally.
Next up is the Fillings chapter. It begins with traditional fillings such as sweet red and sweet white bean pastes, then moves on to strawberry filled mochi (how simple, yet clever!), making a vanilla custard mochi filling, how to make a Hawaiian style Haupia pudding, a matcha cream cheese filling, a black sesame cream filling, a strawberry rose cream cheese filling and more tempting treats. In case that isn’t tempting enough, there’s a section of recipes for Truffles fillings! You’re encouraged to come up with your own filling ideas, and I’ll definitely try her suggested Earl Grey truffle filling. Several ideas for fresh fruit fillings are part of the chapter, too – love this!
You’ll no doubt be pretty excited about the Mochi Ice Cream chapter, with helpful how-tos and step-by-step photographs of the process.
Let’s peek at Chapter 4 – Decorating Mochi. This one will be fun! Kaori Becker suggests using edible markers, candy eyes, chocolate chips, sprinkles, and edible shimmer powder. The colorful photographs of her creations are so fun to look at! The book teaches you how to make edible Nerikiri dough that’s pliable (like Play-doh) and can be frozen for up to a month, then reheated a bit when you want to mold or sculpt cute creatures with it. She demonstrates how to make quick edible pink mochi flowers (it looks so easy!) using little tools, and offers a guide to making a darling little baby chick. I’ll leave the rest of the figures a surprise for when you read through your own copy of the book.
I love festivals and holidays, so I have been looking forward to previewing Chapter 5: A New Year’s Tradition – Pounded Mochi. It’s made with just sweet rice and water. The book teaches you how to cook it on the stove top, then presents ways to use it – bacon wrapped mochi, ozoni soup, etc.
The Odango: Balls of Fun chapter is really adorable. and makes me want to go buy wooden skewers to slide colorful mochi balls onto. You learn to make Plain Dango, Tofu Dango, a sweet soy sauce, and a sesame sauce. I had no idea so much cooking went into making mochi!
Bet you’re curious about the Baked Mochi chapter! You can learn how to make baked buns with sweet bean filling (again, I love the step-by-step photos!), mochi muffins, mochi pancakes, and glazed mochi donuts. There’s also a recipe for crispy chewy mochi waffles. I had no idea all these things were possible with mochi – this is so cool! You even learn to make matcha syrup, if that sounds like something tasty you’d want to do (I’ve found matcha a difficult flavor to learn to enjoy, but I finally do like it!) One of the first things you might want to make from this cookbook might be the Chocolate Mochi Brownies, am I right?
This book is darling and presents so much more information than I’d expected. It’s not too expensive, so I might be tempted to gift it to more than a couple foodie-leaning nieces and nephews this holiday season.
What did you think of Mochi Magic: 50 Traditional and Modern Recipes for the Japanese Treat (via Amazon)? Let me know in the comments section below.
-Carrie
