The Magic of Mochi

My love affair with Japan is not yet over.

It started when I was 26 years old, when I tried looking for a way to find work and live in Japan. Since then, I often would just look at internet photos of the values I see in it:

Simple but efficient
Small but self-sustaining
Traditional yet futuristic

Japanese people are extremely creative and systematic. These two traits are too hard to combine.

A simple mochi displays how these two values are highly integrated in the Japanese culture.



This is just a simple set of instructions on how to make Mochi. Note that to make the mochi featured in my blog requires skill and a lot of creativity.

Ingredients

1 cup Mochiko (Mochi flour)
3/4 cup water (180ml)
2 cups sugar - you may reduce sugar definitely 
cornstarch
Anko (sweet red bean paste) or
Add filling if you like - you can add different types of ice cream, chocolate or nutella, cream or caramel, fruity jam or fresh fruit like mangoes, banana 

Remember only your creativity can stop you! 

Instructions

Mix Mochiko and water in a glass (or other heat proof) bowl and mix well. Add some more water if it's too dry, 1 Tbsp at a time.
Steam the Mochiko dough (leaving the dough in the bowl) in a steamer for 20 minutes.
Transfer the steamed Mochi into a pot and cook at medium to medium low heat with 1/3 of the sugar (2/3 cup). When the sugar is completely dissolved, add another 1/3 of the sugar and mix well. Add the last part of the sugar and cook some more until the sugar is dissolved. Take the time to melt the sugar, but be careful not to burn it.
Take the hot Mochi out from the pot onto a sheet pan liberally dusted with cornstarch. Shape as you like.






There is a discipline and technique in making mochi - and making them consistently the same each time - in terms of taste and presentation. And yet, there are hundreds of mochi varieties. Each train station would have an entire 500 ft area where you can buy an assorted range of mochi!




These are my parents shopping for mochi at Osaka train station.


Peanut Butter Sandwich with a Twist

I seriously do not like repeating tasks, let alone recipes. This is a big issue in my restaurant dream! Hopefully I will learn a psychological balance one day.
But since I am still that free spirit when it comes to cooking, let me share with you my peanut butter and jam sandwich with a twist!
This is made specially for mum!
Ingredients

White bread
- multi grain is better but since I made this in the Philippines, I do not have much choice
Crunchy peanut butter
Jam, any fruit jam would do
Banana
I sprinkled crushed choconut after I spread the  peanut butter and topped it with thinly sliced bananas. I think chocolate powder would work too :-)

I spread the jam on the other piece and made a sandwich of the two slices.
Then I used the regular oven toaster to heat up the sandwich. It takes three to five minutes.
Watch it closely to prevent burning.
Mum loved it! She didn't like the idea of a banana sandwich before but she finished the sandwich in ten minutes! Hehe =)

Jollibee in Lipa City

There are five Jollibee branches in Lipa City: city center, hospital area,  inside SM, inside Robinson's mall, and the latest is next to star tollway.

This is the Filipino counterpart  for McDonalds. It is actually not that  bad.

I particularly like the 1 piece burger steak with rice. It is about 350 calories.  This is the only  meal I would think of buying.  Just like any fast food chain,  Jollibee  is not a healthy choice.  Gravy, fried chicken and chips,  sugary sundae ice cream,  white bread are killers if eaten daily. It is a cheap  alternative and a harmless meal twice a month.

There are no vegetable dishes at Jollibee.  It's  targeted towards kids and their parents.  The restaurant is a place where kids can be noisy and have fun with family.

They are also famous for jolly kiddie parties.

So if you are visiting the Philippines why not try them. Spend about $10 and you can feed a family of four!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...