Mochi

Ingredients

• 1 cup mochiko sweet rice flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup water
• katakuriko

Recipe

• 1 stir together mochiko, sugar, and salt.
• 2 stir in water to form soft dough.
• 3 lightly knead dough on board dusted with katakuriko (about 30 seconds).
• 4 place dough in steamer tray lined with dampened unbleached muslin or several layers of cheesecloth.
• 5 spread dough evenly over dampened cloth, about 1/2" thick.
• 6 steam 20 minutes.
• 7 remove steamer tray from pan.
• 8 light out cloth with dough.
• 9 pull cloth away from dough, letting dough fall onto a flat surface dusted with katakuriko.
• 10 cool dough for 1-2 minutes.
• 11 while still hot, roll dough into an 8" long sausage-shaped roll.
• 12 cut into 9 pieces.
• 13 sprinkle with katakuriko as needed to prevent sticking.
• 14 form into balls.
• 15 variation 1: fill with crunchy peanut butter for peanut butter mochi.
• 16 variation 2: for chichi dango, add 2 tablespoons melted butter and substitute 1/2 cup water with 1/2 cup milk.