Tags: Chinese · Japanese · Korean
From Wikipedia: Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. Mochi is also a prominent snack in Hawaii and Taiwan.

edit: also tagged this as Korean, where similar rice confections known as "Tteok" are available--see wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tteok

Mochi
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Mochi
Where to get Mochi
Comments

2009 May 19
A shot of the red bean as well.
Sorry for the glare, I took these using Photo Booth

2009 May 19
I became inspired (as in, HEY! I recognize this packaging - I am a marketer's dream) by itchy feet's mochi photo and picked up three boxes from Kowloon Market last week.

I bought the Red Bean and Peanut mochi in addition to the Sesame (which I have not tried yet). The peanut is super tasty!

I like these quite a bit actually - they're cute, come in little serving papers, and are gluten-free, so I can serve them to my growing list of allergy friends. Very nice with tea.

2009 May 7
In response to itchy feet, I have to say that while I've never had fresh mochi, the sesame flavour in the picture is definitely worth trying! Reasonably priced and quite unique: certainly not what you'd typically consider candy or dessert. In any case, they're one of my favourite treats.

I've been buying them from that Asian grocer next to Mandarin Ogilvie, on the left when you walk in.

2009 Apr 22
Loblaws (Richmond R. location), in their continuing re-discovery of what it means to be a grocer, is now (April 2009) offering mochi on sale -- $1.99 for 6. (I'd consider creating a link to Loblaws, but not certain mochi will be an enduring product.)

Not exactly best of breed -- mochi is best eaten fresh. The boxed versions are quite small: for the truth in labeling, compare my half-eaten mochi (foreground) w/ the box photo.

They're also high in sugar, some emulsifier, and i can tell they're not that great (i'm no mochi expert, but have had a few).

Still, for $1.99 its a low risk experiment / alternative to other snack food: sugar aside, its not actually that un-healthy (mostly rice flour and red-beans). And for the uninitiated, perhaps a gateway-mochi to better options elsewhere.



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