I call this “pancake”, but this is a much thicker version that I grew up with eating.
We call it “hotcake” in Japan, and whenever I eat it, it brings back all the memories from my childhood.
I still remember exactly what pan my mother would use to make us hot cakes.
I was in the mood for a hot cake, and when I found an interesting recipe that uses Mochi, I had to try it.
Remember a few days ago I said I used the last pieces of Mochi.
Well, I still wanted to eat more, and I decided to make some myself.
I learned from my Instagram friend, Ms. Tomomi, that it is possible to make Mochi in the U.S. without a Mochi maker.
It turned out great!
It is somewhat a shame that you cannot really see the Mochi in the first dish I made with my first homemade Mochi, but I was super happy with how this Mochi pancake turned out.
It’s soft, moist, and slightly sweet.
It’s thick but not heavy at all.
It was so good that I only used vegan butter.
It was delicious as it was, and I didn’t want to cover it with syrup.
I thoroughly enjoyed my first Mochi pancake.
This black tea was the perfect beverage to accompany the pancake.
This is my absolute favorite black tea, “Hot Cinnamon Sunset” by Harney & Sons.
The sweetness and warmth created by the blend of spices is so wonderful.
It’s so sweet that I have to check the ingredients listed on the tin frequently to make sure there is not added sugar or sweetner.
Mochi, sticky rice cake, is eaten at the beginning of the year traditionally in Japan.
I was shocked to find out that Mochi was sold out on December 30th when I went to the Asian grocery store which typically carries a lot of Japanese foods including seasonal items!
I apparently underestimated the number of Japanese people living in this area.
However, the next day our neighbor came for a rescue!
They were able to find Mochi at a different store and got some for me.
There are many ways to enjoy Mochi, but Zenzai (you add a toasted Mochi to sweet bean soup) is one of the popular ones.
This Macha Zenzai is one of its versions.
I initially made this (picture above), where I used straight Matcha.
This was delicious as you can really enjoy the unique bitterness from Matcha and how well it goes with the sweet read beans which is added as a topping.
But I also wanted to try the Matcha “latte” version.
This was also delicious, and probably better received by non-Japanese or people who are not used to drinking Matcha straight.
Can you tell the Mochi was nicely browned and puffed?
Mochi was added to the Matcha latte as well as chestnuts and sweeet red beans.
You now know why Mochi is called “sticky” rice cake?
It’s sticky and stretchy!!
Be careful when you eat Mochi though because every year the number of deaths caused by choking spikes in January in Japan; people die from choking on Mochi.
I am looking forward to enjoying more Mochi dishes the next few days.