Thursday 6 June 2013

Pounded Rice Cake

Pounded Rice Cake
2 sec cast
Reagents:



According to my research, "Pounded Rice Cake" is Mochi, a glutinous rice confection, and has a crazy amount of recipe variations to pleasure any palate.  I will apologize right out o the gate for the image. My "Pounded Rice Cake" looks nothing like the spell icon in the game - I found a blog that showed how to form a single cake into a floral shape, and it is way beyond my skill level. When I make these tiny cakes again I will endeavor to mimic the spell icon.

The WoW recipe is very basic, so I have selected a recipe that mirrors the simplicity of the game ingredients. I was looking forward to cooking pounded rice cakes, or mochi, on the open grill, but I read a blog where the author tried several different methods of making a variation of the recipe I have, and all of them failed until he used a microwave. I have chosen to sacrifice any WoW authenticity for the sake of something edible.  Here is the recipe I will attempt:

20 min.  cast - movement will not break cast. 
Reagents:


  • 1 cup glutinous rice flour
  • 1 1/2 tbsps sugar
  • 2/3 cup water
  • 1 cup cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp powdered sugar
  • Fresh strawberries

The cornstarch is for dusting your working surface and your hands when you work with the mochi as "sticky" becomes a bit of an understatement.  The strawberries are optional, the recipe I was following, and almost every variation of the recipe, calls for red bean paste. It seems that in my neck of the northern woods, red bean paste is something I will have to import via the good ol' internet. Strawberries are red. Good enough!

1. Combine the glutinous rice flour and sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Add the water to the dry mix and stir until smooth. If you want to add colour to the mochi, then I suggest you add it to the water.  I forgot and had to knead it into each portion I shaped.

2. Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes, checking the mix every 30 seconds as all microwaves are not created equal. Stir the hot almost-mochi if it looks like it is beginning to set before popping it back into the mic. The ideal is a paste-like substance - smooth but not too wet.

3. Use a stiff spatula to scrape the mochi out of the bowl and onto the cornstarch covered surface.  It's
hot, so be careful. Roll it into a ball, then divide it into six pieces. Flatten the mochi balls into discs with the edges thinner then the middle. Place your filling - strawberries, red bean paste (Recently achieved this recipe, check out my post on the Red Bean Buns for instructions) etc - into the center. Pinch the sides of the disk together, and again until the filling is encased. I think my mochi was overloaded with cornstarch, so I found I could moisten the edges with a dab of water and they became sticky again.





4. Set your mochi balls on a plate and dust with powdered sugar. Voila! Pounded Rice Cakes!

Special thanks to Globe Trotter Diaries for the recipe as well as variant ideas and Girl's Days Treats for mochi background and showing me that with practice, lots and lots of practice, pretty mochi can be created.  And finally, thank you to Kiss the Foodie for sharing your mochi making experiences.