“Food obsessions”. What causes them? An inexplicable inward desire to travel to the end of the earth to seek out the best, most enjoyable food items on this planet. While finding them, trying them and trying them again creates moments of excitement I cannot help but never feel 100% satisfied.

While this month my obsession has been macarons, I remember back to early April during my travels in Japan that I would hunt, seek out and destroy any Mochi that I could get my hands on. These soft, delicate sweet desserts to me personify the essence of the Japanese culture and Japanese psyche.

Perfect little pillows of soft chewy sweetness, hand crafted by tedious hours of pounding rice into a glutenous, chewy yet tender dough filled with various sweets – the most common red bean.

After returning from Japan and having put on a few kgs from endless mochi eating, my desire and obsession never quite left. While finding mochi’s in Australia is challenging, it is not impossible with packet varieties available in most asian supermarkets. However, my obsession required my very own Mochitsuki ceremony – so I made my own…

Here is a quick and easy recipe our friend, Naoko, shared with us.

Ingredients

40g Rice Flour
60g Glutinous Flour (aka sticky rice flour)
80g Caster sugar
140 ml water
Soy Bean Flour
1 can sweetened Red Bean (can get these from any Asian supermarket – I use the made in Japan variety)

Method

Mix the rice flour, glutinous flour and caster sugar together. Then add the water and mix until all lumps are gone. Cover in gladwrap and microwave for 2 mins and stir. The texture should be sticky and condense. Heat in microwave for 1 more minute. Remove and stir.

Sprinkle Soy bean flour over the dough (to prevent sticking). Cut the dough up into 8 even pieces.

Roll the pieces into a ball, flatten and add red bean in the centre. Pull the ends together, pinching them so they stick. Then sprinkle soy bean flour over the top.

Simple & easy.

These will keep for a few days in a sealed container however for the freshest result, wrap each mochi individually and store in the fridge!
 

Written by Rob and Thi

300g brown caster sugar
250g softened butter
250g of the best chocolate you can get (darker is better and aim for ~70% cocoa solids)
3 large eggs plus the yolk of another egg
100g plain flour (Nigel uses 60g)
60g of good cocoa powder
1tspn baking powder
Optional: Pecan, macadamia or walnuts

The steps involved are simple:
1) Preheat the oven to 180C

2) Line a large baking tin (23cm) with baking paper

3) Cream the sugar and butter with a mixer until white and fluffy

5) Lightly beat the egg mixture and introduce to the creamed sugar/butter slowly with the beater running slowly until combined.

6) Pour in the molten chocolate and fold with a spoon. Add in the chopped chocolate bits.

7) Sift in the dry ingredients and fold in with spoon gently as to not knock any air out.

I enjoy these best warm at the bottom of a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Yum!