![]() Soak for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.Īfter soaking, drain the rice and place in a strainer for 30 minutes. Then fill the bowl with water one last time. I try to gently rub the grains together too. To do this, you place the measured rice in a big bowl, fill with water and run your fingers through it. Wash the rice thoroughly, until water runs clear. Do not lose it! *If you ever lose it though, know that 1 rice measuring cup = 3/4 US standard dry measuring cup. You HAVE to use the rice measuring cup that came with the mochi maker. This is the maximum amount this mochi maker can handle and since I’ll be bringing some over to my mom, I figured I’ll just make a big batch. Not sure if they are interchangeable as I have both but never tried to replace one with another.įor my New Year’s mochi, I start the process a day before I want to cook and pound the rice. These ones are almost round and the Filipino “malagkit” rice is more elongated. Filipino cuisine uses a sweet, sticky rice too but the appearance is different. I had always used this brand of sweet rice so I’m not sure if there is any other brand out there. Yummy!! I like all those but I love stuffed mochi even more! You toast them up till they puff and dip them in soy sauce. We also have kiri mochi, which is made from pounded sweet rice shaped into bars and dried. ![]() Mochi is traditionally eaten in Japan during New Year’s, it is added to soups like Ozoni, (made with chicken, vegetables and mochi) or Zenzai (sweet red bean soup with soft mochi pieces swimmimg around!). But I was able to snap photos (and videos!) along the way and I hope you’ll enjoy this read! Oh the beautiful chaos in the kitchen! ![]() The holidays got a bit too busy to catch up with writing recipes (even though it was the perfect time as kitchens all over are definitely churning out yummy goodies non stop!). Since I am making some that day, I figured I’ll just write about it too. To see the short video in full, check out the clip below.One of the ladies at an ELB group I’m in mentioned a blogger making mochi like I did at the beginning of the year. Nakatani says this is the happiest moment for him, when he sees the happy faces of those who eat his handmade product. The end product is a smooth, fresh mochi rice cake, covered in kinako toasted soybean flour, which draws customers from all around Japan and brings smiles to everyone who visits his store. The co-ordinated shouts allow the workers to work in sync with each other at incredibly high speeds, and their fast work and amazing display of prowess is testament to their years of experience and practice. Working at such high speeds, with every pounding putting his hands at risk of being crushed by the force of the mallet, trust and communication between workers is key to avoiding injury. Nakatani uses a “high-speed mochi-tsuki“, where he works at amazing speeds of three poundings every second. The process that transforms the glutinous rice into chewy “cakes” is called “ mochi-tsuki”. The special technique requires two people to work together, with one turning, moistening and hand-pounding the large ball of sticky rice in a wooden bowl, while the other hits the mound full-force with a mallet. The type of mochi Nakatani specialises in is yomogimochi, mochi mixed with mugwort, which gives it a distinctive green colour. The video gives us an introduction to the importance of mochi in Japanese culture, which is eaten at times of celebration, especially during the New Year period. We were amazed by his skills when we saw him at work in his store last year, and now he’s returned as the star of a brand new video that gives us an insight into the man himself and the amazing technique and passion behind his craft. Located in Nara, the master mochi maker attracts huge crowds whenever he and his colleagues make a new batch of green-coloured mochi, putting on an incredible display of synchronised hand-and-mallet pounding at such high speeds that the process whirls by the naked eye in a wondrous blur. Mitsuo Nakatani has been pounding mochi sticky rice in his shop, Nakatanidou, for 23 years. The man who kneads rice at incredible speeds of three hits per second lets us into his world and tells us why he lives for making mochi.
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