How to make mochi (rice cake) Photo Gallery by Frederic Poirot at pbase.com

How to make mochi (rice cake)

Usually set for the New Year Eve, we were nonetheless invited to a Mochitsuki party down in San Jose, CA.
This is a japanese tradition to gather family and friends to participate in the making of these rice paste delights.
Each participant must come with sweet rice that has been sunk and cleaned into clear water for 2 days.
The rice is steamed then pounded into a 'uru' with wood sticks and with wooden mallets ('kine'). Then the paste is rolled into mochi.

Each participant can be involved in the pounding, rolling, bagging. Lots to do... 2 days before going to this party, I was wondering how the rice paste was made while munching on some coco-flavored rice paste cake. Well, I saw it and I made some as well.

Pictures have been set up in order to show you the complete process from A to Y...Z being eating them.

For more details on the tradition itself, search 'mochi' on Wikipedia.

The 'mallet master' prepares the mallets (or 'kine')	Removing some chards...	Shocking in water : the rice paste should not stick to it	The rice,soaked for 2 days in clear water is cooked
and steaming...	and steaming	In the meantime, the 'uru' is cleaned with water	A plate of rice is ready...
The steamed rice is put into the uru...	The rice grain are then smashed to make the paste	The mochi paste starts to smoothen	Some even more pounding to crush the last grains
Ready to be pounded	The 'kine' at work	The paste is almost ready for mochi	Un-sticking the mochi paste. The paste is flipped over multiple time to squash it good.
Flour and ready to make the mochi	Roll them, fold them to smoothen the paste	Close the gaps and folds	Voila a mochi!
Additionally, you can put some red bean paste inside	Heavy production	Red Bean paste	Steaming?
Lined up to be bagged...or 'ziplocked'

post a comment

Guest		04-Dec-2008 23:20
if you dont want to go through all that you could buy a mochi machine....not quite as cool but pretty tasty

Guest		08-May-2008 00:29
i love mochi so much and now i know how to make it meself thank you

Guest		05-Jan-2008 23:57
I LOVE mochi! We buy some almost every year - but this year I was not home in California and couldn't find any in Tennessee where I was... wish I could have made my own! Thanks for showing us how it's done...

Guest		20-Apr-2007 04:40
i'm sure you could use a mortar and pestle, right?

sir read-a-lot		20-Dec-2006 04:12
can you use a grinder insead?

Guest		23-Jul-2006 20:53
Well, it took 15/20 minutes to get the right paste consistency by hammering it constantly. Little short in 2 hours!

anonymous		18-Jul-2006 08:34
i was just wondering if there was a way to make it in 2hours! its for a cooking assignment and this looks really yummy..and is it possible to use a large bowl and grinder instead of the kine and uru but still not buy it from a shop

E Lum		08-Jan-2006 03:14
Thanks for the "mochizuki" lesson. Wow, all the way down there in San Jose. Cool brah. Eric (Hawaii)

Toshihiro Oshima		03-Jan-2006 01:28
Wonderful Visual Recipe of the typical Japanese New Year tradition! Too bad, I don't have much chance to see these traditions in Tokyo. They used to do this(and I believe they still do it even now) in the local area outside the city. Voted!

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