mochi

You may have heard of mochi, the Japanese cake made with sweet, glutinous rice. You may have even enjoyed it as the shell of mochi ice cream, a frozen dessert popular at Japanese restaurants. But do you know that mochi can be a sweet or savory component in just about any meal?

I recently discovered this when I spotted bake-and-serve packs of mochi next to tofu in the refrigerated section of Whole Foods. I did a little research and some experimentation in the kitchen with what I found and quickly learned that mochi lends a totally different textural component to a meal than, say, bread, potatoes, or even rice. There are a ton of simple ways to start out experimenting with this lesser-known product. Here are five of my favorite ways to do it.

I love using color to brighten up my baked goods, but sometimes the idea of adding drop after drop of artificial food dye makes me cringe. So with St. Patrick's Day coming up, the hunt was on to find a natural coloring agent to turn my baked goods a lovely shade of green.

Historically used in Japanese tea ceremonies, matcha is finely milled green tea powder that today finds its way into mochi, soba noodles, ice cream, candy, and pastries to impart a light tea flavor and intense green hue. Although it's not a traditional Irish flavor, I thought I'd test the luck of the, well, Japanese and add it to my Springtime Bundt cake.

Taking the Asian influence a step further, I substituted mochi rice flour for the regular all-purpose flour, which made it denser than the fluffy Bundt cake of yore but a little chewy and texturally interesting. A layer of chocolate gives your palate more to mull over while you chew.

Ready for this different take on a Springtime cake? Just keep reading!

Check out this delicious recipe for mochi cupcakes with green tea frosting from OnSugar blog Yoo Eatz:

This week, my neighbor Jamie invited me to a Real Housewives-style lunch (sans crazy drama and plastic surgery) at her house with a couple other ladies from the block. Our other neighbor Cathy offered to whip up some of her delicious egg rolls and noodles, Jamie supplied her precious Lupicia tea, and since Jamie has her hands full chasing around her adorable 10-month-old daughter, I figured I would chip in with dessert. But what to bring that would be tasty next to Cathy's delicious Chinese delectables and Jamie's wonderful tea?

One of my favorite Japanese treats is daifuku manju: sweetened mochi (rice cake) filled with an (sweet bean paste) that is intended to be eaten with tea. I used to love to stop at Benkyo-do in Japantown for a manju sampler: white mochi with red koshi-an (smooth bean paste), pink mochi with white koshi-an, green tea mochi with red tsubushi-an (chunky bean paste). Lately, I have been intrigued with how to infuse my favorite Asian flavors into traditional western pastries, and since cupcakes afford so much flexibility with ingredients and textures, they seemed like a good starting point.

For the recipes, read on.