Chi Chi Dango Mochi

I've worked hard to make sure all my recipes on this blog are originals, so I can proudly put my name at the bottom of each of them. This recipe isn't exclusively mine, but I am afraid I might lose it in the abyss of the internet if I don't publish it. I am publishing it with my own little twists, so there's still some Lisa in there.

"Mochi" is a sweet rice flour treat that is popular in Hawaii and Japan. My husband, Cody, was introduced to it when he served his mission in Japan, and once tried to replicate it by grinding cooked rice in our food processor. Not too successful. But today when discussing Japanese desserts I randomly looked it up and found a recipe. And even better, all the ingredients can be purchased right here in my local grocery store! The one semi-specialty ingredient is Mochiko Rice Flour, which I found in the Asian section right along with the soy sauce, coconut milk, and chopsticks. It comes in a white box. You need this brand, though, because of it's glutenous properties.

If you've never had mochi before, it is supposed to be stretchy and a little gooey, and quite sticky. After it has been cut into little bites and rolled in the starch, it can be frozen or stored in the fridge or even at room temperature. At room temp they could potentially spoil faster. I'm a big fan of trying new and adventurous things. This is a pretty good place to start if you are stuck in your same 5 dinners over and over. It's sweet and very tasty, but the texture is a little different. Also, it is super easy to make if you follow the directions exactly. It might just be the thing to jump-start your international food tour!

Chi Chi Dango Mochi

• 1 pound mochiko (glutinous rice flour) (that's a whole box)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk
• 1/4 teaspoon red food color (optional)
  
• 1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
  
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar + 1/2 cup corn starch or potato starch
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Whisk together the rice flour, sugar and baking powder; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the water, vanilla, coconut milk and red food coloring. Blend in the rice flour mixture. Pour into the prepared pan.
3. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 1 hour. Allow to cool completely.*Tent the foil so it is an inch or two higher in the middle than on the edges. This will allow the steam to run to the edges and prevent a soggy center. When done, the mochi will be kind of springy and stretchy all the way through.
   
4. After it has cooled for about 3 hours, sprinkle the top with the sesame seeds. Pat them in gently. cool even more if necessary.
   
5. Turn the pan of mochi out onto a clean surface that has been dusted with the powdered sugar/corn starch mixture. Cut into bite size pieces using a plastic knife. The mochi does not stick as much to plastic knives. This recipe makes about 40 or 50 little candy-sized bites.

Most of this recipe, with the exception of the sesame seeds, and a few tips on my part, was taken from this site.