Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Kirimochi
Mochi are versatile sweet sticky rice cakes, fashioned both sweet and savory. Traditionally made from whole steamed white sticky rice (mochigomi), pounded with mallets to release its glutinous starches, mochi is very sticky, chewy, and a melt-in-your-mouth delight. Modern cooks use electric mochi makers to create mochi dough.
Another method uses sweet glutinous sticky rice flour. It is also very tasty. This is a whole brown rice mochi recipe. Whole-grain mochigomi flour isn’t available commercially, so I ground the raw brown sticky rice into a fine flour. I shaped some of the very sticky dough into balls for dumplings in ozoni miso soup, and cut the remainder into squares to toast in an oven or airfryer to make kirimochi for its delightfully crisp exterior and molten chewy interior. Enjoy it in soups or on salads as well, as chewy croûtons, or wrap in nori seaweed for isobe maki, a delicious savory appetizer.
Kirimochi is almost effortless to make, but its texture improves, becoming chewier and stretchier with a two-day rest in the fridge, so plan ahead accordingly.
Note
Japanese glutinous rice has a carbon footprint of 1.63 kg CO2e/kg, high for whole grains but similar to other rice varieties. It is driven primarily by high methane emissions, released by soil anaerobic bacteria when fields are routinely flooded to increase yield and kill weeds (CarbonCloud.com). Japanese farmers are now encouraged to prolong mid-season drainage periods which can reduce emissions by as much as 30%.
Prep 15 minutes
Rest time 2 days in the fridge
Makes 15 to 20 pieces
300 g whole brown glutinous sweet sticky rice (mochigomi), ground into a flour
300 ml water
Use a grain mill on the finest setting to grind the brown sticky rice into as fine a flour as you can. Transfer to a 6 cup Pyrex rectangular container, and add the water. Whisk to blend into a uniform, thick paste.
Cover the container and microwave on high for 1 minute. Beat the soft dough with a wooden spoon or stiff spatula for a minute. As you beat it, it will thicken. Cover, and microwave for one more minute.
As soon as the mochi dough cools enough to handle, use wet hands to knead it for 1 to 2 minutes. Kneading the dough renders it elastic and chewy, desirable traits in mochi. Rewet your hands as needed. Work quickly, because very quickly the dough will tighten.
Before the dough becomes unworkable, shape half the dough into ping pong sized balls for round mochi balls for ozoni, by rolling the dough into balls between your wet palms. To facilitate even cooking, press a knuckle into each ball to indent it. Boil them in water briefly, much like Italian gnocchi, until they rise to the surface. Add them now to ozoni. If you make round mochi in advance, however, after they rise to the surface, transfer them to an ice water bath briefly to cool, before storing in the refrigerator until use.
Use a wet offset spatula to quickly spread the remaining dough as evenly as you can to a thickness of ⅜ to ¼ - inch. Cover the container tightly, and refrigerate for at least 2 days.
Remove from the fridge, run a knife around the edges, cut strips 1.5-inches wide. The dough will have adhered to the glass, so use a wet offset spatula to remove each strip and transfer them to a board. Cut each strip into 1-inch pieces for bite-sized kirimochi.
Preheat an air fryer to 400°F (or oven to 425°F).
Place the kirimochi pieces an inch apart on a baking pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone sheet. Roast for about 10 minutes or until the pieces have puffed up and turned golden. Do not over roast or they will dry out.
Serve in ozoni or any other soup you like. For an isobe maki appetizer, wrap each roasted kirimochi piece in a piece of nori seaweed and serve with a tasty dipping sauce or good quality, fermented tamari.
A special thank you to ceramicist Jo Chess for the lovely dipping bowl.