Homemade Mochi (糍粑)

Traditional way to make Mochi is to place steamed glutinous rice in a mortar, then pound it into sticky rice dough. See this video. The Mochi made from the Glutinous rice powder just do not have the same chewy texture. To save my arms, I used the Kitchen Aid to do the heavy lifting. This did limit how much rice I could make in one setting since the rice became very sticky and required the mixer to work hard.

Ingredients

Glutinous rice - 1 lb
Hot water - approx 1/2 cup

Steps

1. Soak rice overnight.

2. Steam rice over high heat for 20 minutes or until fully cooked.

3. Transfer cooked rice to stand mixer right away. Use the dough hook to mix at low speed for about 10 minutes or until you get a sticky dough. Add the hot water in batches, if needed.

4. Put the sticky rice dough onto an greased surface, and use a greased pestle (I used a steak hammer) to pound the dough. The more you pound it, the smooth the dough. Do it until you are satisfied with the texture, or too tired to continue.

5. Fresh Mochi can be served right away by.

- Boil brown sugar and water, with 2:1 ratio, in small pot until sugar is melt.

- Roll small balls of mochi in cooked soy bean power.

- Then put the coated rice balls into sugar water. Serve warm

6. To store the mochi, let it air dry for about 1 day. Then wrap with shrink wrap to store in container.

When you are ready to eat, slice it and pan-fry it. Can serve with sugar or other dipping.