I bought a box of mochiko (sweet rice flour) and it happened to have a very simple recipe on the box. I had fancier plans involving mochi filled with red bean, but it was late and I wanted something that was safe. The website actually shows a slightly different recipe, but it is mostly similar to what I used.
Box recipe: used 6 tbs cocoa
I also made my own modification: used 1 3/4 cup sugar.Firstly some warnings:
#1. this 1lb box of flour makes a ton of mochi dough. If you don't have a big bowl that can be microwaved, you should really half or quarter the recipe. The mochi dough will bubble out of the bowl if it is too small, and make a huge mess in the microwave.
#2. if you have weak arms like me, you should use an electric hand mixer to help you mix the mochiko and water. It makes a much smoother batter.
#3. cooked mochi dough is a pain to wash. You need plenty of running hot water, and a brush.
#4. the microwaved mochi will seem very stiff, but it's okay coz you need to add a bunch of cocoa syrup. I suggest pouring in the syrup a little at a time. This time, I used a spoon to mix because the dough was too stiff for my cheap hand mixer.
#5: the texture of the dough is not suitable for making the type of mochi with filling. Maybe at some special stage when it is semi-cooled, it might be of the right texture. But it mainly pours like cake batter when you're done stirring.
Other tips:
#1. I used parchment paper to line my 13x9 inches baking tray, before greasing with some olive oil.
#2. Oil your knife before cutting the mochi.
#3. Store mochi in an airtight container -- I used Saran wrap before putting the lids on my boxes. You don't want dry and hard mochi the next day.
The taste test:
The mochi was just sweet enough, and mildly chocolately. After dusting with cocoa, it was not sticky. When you bite into it, it's rather soft and again, it does not stick to your teeth. My colleagues really liked it.
Future modifications:
#1. I cut the sugar slightly, but I want to cut it a little more. I intend to drop the sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
#2. I found the cocoa flavor to be kind of weak. I would try to add another 2 tb of cocoa, making it a total of 8tb.
#3. I like a slightly chewier/springier mochi. I think the 3 cups of liquid that was mixed with the flour was absolutely necessary. I think I might reduce the 1 cup water from the chocolate syrup to 1/2 cup and see how it goes.
PS: Total cost of the great mochi project: ~$4.
