Mochi Madness Archives - Page 2 of 2

Butter Mochi, Microwave Magic

By threejamigos | May 4, 2021 | Comments 11 comments

Yes, on the Mochi treat trail once again. Aside from being delicious, Mochi is pretty darn easy to make thanks to Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour. I have been playing around with recipes that find their roots in Hawaiian Butter Mochi. Sweet Rice flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and different liquids (milk, coconut milk, fruit nectars….) combined and baked into delightful bars or muffins. A bit cakey, a bit chewy yet forgiving, sweet but not cloyingly so, and maddingly addictive. The Butter Mochi Muffins is by far the most popular recipe on 3jamigos. But…

There Is A New Kid In Town

A recipe for Butter Mochi on No Recipes had me running to my kitchen. Whaddya know, these little gems are made in a microwave. Unlike baked Hawaiian Butter Mochi treats, this one is texturally similar to classic mochi found in Japanese Manju Shops. (Worth a visit! Shuei-Do in San Jose or Benkyodo in San Francisco). The riff of adding butter, sugar, and milk is genius. You end up with a soft, chewy, smooth, slightly sweet, buttery, insanely delicious treat.

Shortcuts: Momofuku, Microwave, and Mochiko

The microwave makes this a quick and easy treat. I’ve been playing around with cooking in the microwave ever since I bought a set of Cook Anyday Microwave cookware. Yes I know, I could have used the pyrex glass dish I have but…damn, that Dave Chang of Momofuku is really good at getting you to buy stuff, lol. And really, you can never have too many bowls. I listen to his podcast and its offshoot, Recipe Club. and I find myself laughing A LOT. A good thing during these crazy times.

Traditionally, Mochi starts with glutinous rice that is soaked, steamed, and laboriously POUNDED into a sticky mass that is used to form those cute little balls and squares you take for granted at the Manju Shop. Luckily, we can start with Mochiko or Sweet Rice Flour-no soaking or pounding. Just put everything in a bowl and stir. How easy is that? Along with the microwave, you will be cranking out batches of Butter Mochi in minutes.

Combine Mochiko flour and sugar in a large glass bowl (or microwavable bowl). Add one-third of the milk, stir to make a smooth paste, gradually add the rest of the milk, and stir well for a lump-free batter. Place bowl in the microwave and nuke for two and a half minutes. The mochi will look thicker and form some lumps. Remove the bowl and add the butter. Stir until the butter is fully incorporated and the mixture is smooth again. The recipe calls for cultured butter which has a slight tang. I used Trader Joe’s French Cultured Butter. You could probably use European-style butter like Kerrygold Irish Butter. I also used salted butter which I think enhances the flavor.

Put it back in the microwave for another three and a half minutes. Carefully (it’s hot!) remove the bowl from the microwave and knead the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula NOT your hands. This helps create that translucent, elastic texture.

If it doesn’t get that translucent look or isn’t very elastic, try microwaving it another minute. Transfer the Mochi into a small square pan lined with parchment. The recipe calls for a five-by-five-inch pan. Hmmm, not a size I have so I improvised. Place pan (box in my case) in the fridge to chill.

The final step is cutting the Butter Mochi. It will be really sticky. To keep the pieces from sticking dust with potato starch or cornstarch. Sorry folks, powdered sugar will not work as it will absorb moisture from the mochi and turn gummy. Serve. Mochi can be stored at room temperature for a day or in the fridge for longer. Bring to room temp before serving.

And one mor-chi tip

I made a second batch using coconut milk. For folks that are milk intolerant, this would work well. Win-win. Reduce the first microwave time to 2 minutes. It solidified a little quicker than the regular milk version which made stirring in the butter a little harder. You do lose a bit of the pure butter flavor but the coconut milk is a nice complement. Play around with the microwave times for your machine. For the second microwave session, I’d go 3 minutes first and check before zapping it further.

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5 from 3 votes

Butter Mochi

Butter Mochi made in the microwave! Soft, chewy, buttery, a hint of sweetness, this Japanese treat is easy to make and delicious!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian

Keyword brown butter, butter mochi, Dessert, mochiko, sweet rice flour

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 7

Ingredients

100 grams mochiko
90 grams granulated sugar a little less than 1/2 cup
1 cup whole milk or coconut milk
3 tablespoons Cultured Butter (45 grams) TJ's French Cultured Butter or Kerrygold Salted Irish Butter. I like the bit of salt.
Potato starch or cornstarch for dusting

Instructions

Line a 5-inch square pan with parchment paper. Use any small pan, 4x6 (lol, does anyone have a pan this size?)
Add the mochiko and sugar to a large microwave-safe bowl, and then add about 1/3 of the milk. Stir the mixture together until there are no lumps. Add the remaining milk and continue stirring until it is smooth.
Put the bowl, uncovered, in the microwave and set it to cook for 2:30. If you have a 600 watt microwave, use full power. Adjust accordingly.
Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir the mixture until it's mostly smooth.
Add the butter and stir until fully melted and incorporated.
Microwave uncovered for another 3:00-3:30. Get to know your microwave!
Carefully remove the bowl from the microwave. Use a silicone spatula to knead the mochi together. The mochi is very hot, do not get it on your hands as you stir. The mixture will get very sticky and turn a translucent yellowish-white color as you knead it. If this doesn't happen, microwave it for another minute or two.
Transfer it to the prepared parchment-lined pan and press the butter mochi into the corners and flatten off the top.
Chill the mochi in the refrigerator for a few hours to firm it up. Unmold the butter mochi and peel off the parchment paper. Use a sharp knife to cut it into approximately 1" squares and then dust each piece liberally with potato starch. Brush the excess starch off and serve.

Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes-Chodazzled

By threejamigos | April 13, 2021 | Comments 1 comment

Skipping across my feed lately have been a series of articles on chefs adapting to life during the pandemic. As we know, the food industry has been hit particularly hard by COVID-19. Restaurants, bakeries, caterers have worked hard to adapt to the harsh reality of the pandemic. It hasn’t been easy and we have lost so many restaurants and businesses it’s depressing. There are some bright spots though and Joy Cho is one of them. Her Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes has taken Brooklyn by storm.

Laid off from her position at the Grammercy Tavern (she has CHOPS people) she created these wonderful little cakes in her Brooklyn home. The cakes went viral and let’s just say ordering a box of these babies is like trying to score a table at the French Laundry pre-COVID, without the last name of Newsom (JUST KIDDING).

Lucky for those of us who don’t live in Brooklyn, Ms. Cho’s recipe for her ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS Gem Cakes is available on Epicurious. It immediately went viral, I stumbled upon it and yep, got busy in the kitchen.

A Gem of a Recipe

These are crazy good and pretty easy to make. Here’s what makes these gems stand out.

All-purpose Flour and Sweet Rice Flour- The combination of the two flours is the best of both worlds. Tender, cakey, moist, with a bit of springiness. They have a nice balance of cakiness and chewiness. Using just sweet rice flour would result in a denser, chewier texture, a classic mochi dessert without any sort of crumb. All AP flour will give you a regular old cupcake and come on peeps, we are looking for something FRESH.

Butter, eggs and sour cream – The trifecta of fat that adds richness, flavor, moisture, and tenderness to the cake.

Be sure to keep a light hand which means don’t overmix the batter. Your batter should be light and fluffy. Finish incorporating the flour by folding the ingredients together by hand. You want to retain the air bubbles in the batter to keep the cakes light. Overmixing develops the gluten in the AP flour which makes the cakes tough. The batter may look a little curdled at some points but keep gently folding and the batter will come together. Promise.

The original Gem Cakes are baked in a brownie bundt pan. I made them in a standard muffin tin which worked out well (don’t you think?).

Bake until the cakes are golden brown. If you like your cakes a bit crispier on the outside bake a couple of minutes longer.

A Sparkling Finish

Genius Glaze – The glaze for the little cakes is a simple powdered sugar, a little bit of milk, and any flavor your heart desires. The original recipe includes strawberry matcha and milk tea glazes. Strawberry jam is used for the glaze, while the matcha and milk tea glazes start with powders. Not having milk tea powder, I went with two jam flavors, strawberry and blackberry and a black sesame seed icing using black sesame powder I found at the Asian grocery store. You can make your own by grinding roasted black sesame seeds into a powder.

Dippity Do-Da-Dippity-Damn These are Delicious

While the cakes cool, make your glazes. Speed is of the essence with the glaze as it sets pretty quickly. Glaze your cakes by inverting the cupcakes and dipping them into the icing. Rotate the cakes in a circular motion. You will get drips down the side which adds to the appeal. Set them on a wire rack and garnish each cake immediately after glazing before it hardens.

For the black sesame icing, I started with a tablespoon of black sesame powder, start with less, and add to taste. My next batch will include a Citron-flavored glaze made with Citron Tea which is popular in Korea. The array of freeze-dried fruits that can be crushed and used to flavor frostings and icings would also work well (just like Eric Kim’s Lofthouse Cookie frosting-so good). You may need a smidge more milk to thin the glaze made with powders. Use your imagination, the sky’s the limit. I’m thinking Mocha glaze with cocoa nibs to garnish.

Garnish adds that visual zing, nuts, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, citrus zest, so once again, be creative. These cakes are scrumptious-make some now. Or if you are going to Brooklyn soon, please, be a GEM and bring me a box!

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5 from 2 votes

Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes

Scrumptious mini cakes from the amazing Brooklyn pastry chef, Joy Cho.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword joy cho, Sour Cream Gem Cakes, sweet rice flour

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Ingredients

Nonstick vegetable oil spray such as PAM for baking (for pan)
1/2 scant cup (60 g) all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
1/3 heaping cup (60 g) glutinous sweet rice flour (such as Koda Farms Blue Star Mochiko)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 scant cup (130 g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
3 Tbsp whole milk, room temperature
Milk Tea Glaze, Matcha Glaze, or Strawberry Jam Glaze (for serving) or your choice
Flaky sea salt toasted unsweetened shredded coconut, lemon zest, or sesame seeds (for

Instructions

Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°. Lightly coat 20 molds of 2 brownie Bundt pans or the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan or 2 standard 6-cup muffin pans with nonstick spray; lightly dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt, and all-purpose flour in a medium bowl to combine. Get yourself a scale, so much easier!
Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed just until smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a rubber spatula. With motor running, add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate and scraping down sides of bowl a&er each addition. Add vanilla and beat just to combine. (Mixture may look slightly curdled at this point, but don’t worry, it will come together in the end.)
Sift in half of dry ingredients and beat on low speed just until a few dry patches remain. Scrape down sides of bowl and add sour cream and milk; beat just until incorporated. Sift in remaining dry ingredients and beat until combined. Finish by hand to avoid overmixing.
Divide batter among prepared pans (about 2 Tbsp. per mold for Bundt pans or about 3 Tbsp. per cup for muffin pan). Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, 14–16 minutes for Bundts, 17–20 minutes for muffins. Let cakes cool in pan 10 minutes, then gently loosen cakes with a small offset spatula and turn out onto wire racks; let cool completely.
Dip tops of cakes in glaze of choice; set back on racks, letting excess glaze drip down sides. Double-glaze cakes if you like.
Sprinkle cakes with toppings as desired (e.g., a pinch of flaked salt-like Maldon on Milk Tea Glaze, coconut or sesame seeds on Matcha Glaze, and lemon or orange zest on Strawberry Jam Glaze).
Do ahead: Like doughnuts, gem cakes are best enjoyed the day they are baked but can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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5 from 2 votes

Glaze for Gem Cakes

The perfect finish for Joy Cho's Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword Icing for Glazed Sour Cream Gem Cakes

Prep Time 5

Ingredients

Base for Glaze

1⅓ cups 160 g powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
Kosher salt

Jam Glaze

3 Tbsp. strawberry or OTHER FAVORITE JAM preferably seedless (push through a sieve before measuring if jam has large pieces of fruit)

Black Sesame Glaze

1 tbsp Black Sesame Powder or grind roasted black sesame seeds to a powder.
1 tsp milk If the glaze seems a little too thick

Freeze Dried Fruits

15 gms freeze-dried fruit Start with about half-cup of freeze-dried fruit, crush and strain for seeds. Approximately 1 tbsp of fruit
1 tsp milk If the glaze seems a little too thick

Instructions

While the cakes cool, whisk powdered sugar, milk, jam, or powder and a few pinches salt in a medium bowl until smooth. The consistency should be viscous but not overly thick; adjust with more powdered sugar or milk as needed.

Just Another Mochi Muffin (Guava!)

By threejamigos | April 4, 2021 | Comments 9 comments

Yes, my romance with mochi muffins continues.

Right next door to Shuei-Do, my favorite manju shop in Japantown, San Jose, is a Poke Shop, Aloha Fresh. As much as I like Poke, I love going for their butter mochi. They kick it up a notch by offering different flavors like guava, lilikoi, or a brownie macadamia nut version …all are absolutely onolicious. Butter Mochi at Aloha Fresh is limited to the weekends but lucky for me and you, Shuei-Do also makes a yummy Butter Mochi. Between the two – you are covered for your mochi fix.

But what if you can’t get to Japantown?

You can make your own AND it’s pretty darn easy.

Mochi desserts run the gamut from chewy, bouncy, creamy to moist, a little chewy, and cakey (is that a word?) texture. I wanted a tropical flavor, buttery, crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside treat. A recipe for Blood Orange Mochi Muffins from Cooking Therapy served as inspiration. In place of blood orange juice, I used Guava Nectar. The muffins were delicious and I plan to try different nectars like Hawaiian Sun’s POG, passionfruit, orange, and guava juice next time.

The batter comes together quickly, this is almost one bowl, one wooden spoon, easy territory. The addition of butter is that Hawaiian tweak that makes it so delicious. Fill well-greased muffin tins about 3/4 full. Bake for 45 minutes, or a little longer for a crispier edge. It will lose that crispness with time though. Store at room temp for 2-3 days max. Pop them in a toaster oven to crisp them a little bit. Do not refrigerate. You can freeze them without the icing. Thaw and crisp in the oven. These muffins are moist, chewy, a little squishy, yummy, and addictive.

Ice, Ice Mochi

Making the icing is easy. Whisk the dry ingredients with coconut milk, vanilla, a pinch of salt, and juice. The icing should be loose enough to dip each muffin top into but thick enough to adhere to the surface with only a bit of dripping. After dipping one muffin you can adjust the sugar or liquid for the right consistency. Sprinkle topping of your choice, coconut shreds, orange zest, sesame seeds, or a bit of flaky salt. Let the muffins sit for a couple of minutes so the icing can set, then serve.

Love mochi? Here are more recipes using sweet rice flour! Butter Mochi Muffins, Peanut Butter Mochi, and Chocolate Mochi Donuts.

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4.75 from 4 votes

Tropical Mochi Muffins

A delicious, gluten-free mochi muffin, chewy, moist, and flavored with guava nectar and citrus.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American, Hawaiian

Keyword butter mochi, mochi muffin

Prep Time 10

Ingredients

½ cup butter melted, if using unsalted butter, add 1/4 tsp salt to dry ingredients
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup coconut cream or full fat coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs room temperature
Zest of 1 orange preferably Cara Cara oranges
1 cup guava nectar substitute mango, passion fruit, or tropical fruit blend nectar or orange juice (Cara Cara)
2 cups sweet rice flour
2 tsp baking powder

Guava Icing

2 tbsp Guava Nectar Substitute mango, passionfruit, or tropical blend, or orange juice.
2 tbsp coconut milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange optional
poppy seeds, shredded coconut, black sesame seeds, orange zest garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 12-cup standard muffin tin.
Sift the sweet rice flour and baking powder into a small bowl and set aside.
Add melted butter, sugar, and coconut milk to a large bowl. Mix until combined.
Add the vanilla extract and eggs. Mix until combined.
Add the guava nectar and zest. Mix until combined.
Into the wet ingredients. Mix until a wet batter forms. It should be a pretty loose consistency.
Scoop batter into the muffin pan. Tap the muffin pan 1-2 times on a flat surface to get rid of the air bubbles.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until the edges start to brown. For a crispier edge, bake 45-50 minutes. Don't go much longer as it may make the inside drier and a little tougher.
Cool for 10 minutes in the muffin pan before removing.

Icing

While the muffins cool, make your icing. Place powdered sugar In a small bowl. Add coconut cream or milk, nectar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Stir with a whisk until completely blended.
When muffins have cooled, remove from pan. Dip the top of each muffin into the icing and place on a wire rack. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, shredded coconut. The consistency of the icing should be thin enough to dip but thick enough that it doesn't all run off the muffin top. A little bit will roll down the side of the muffin. That's okay!
The icing is optional. If you don't use it, sprinkle the muffins with sesame seeds or flaked coconut before baking.

Notes

This recipe can be easily halved!

Icing is optional.

I like using coconut cream instead of milk. I think the muffins are little denser, richer and chewier with cream instead of milk. Don't use lite coconut milk.

Play with flavors. Any nectar or juice would work. If you can find Hawaiian Sun Juice Drinks they have a variety of flavors including island favorite, POG (Passionfruit. Orange and Guava).

Chocolate Mochi Donuts (I Want MO Mochi)

By threejamigos | February 1, 2021 | Comments 3 comments

Just Another Mochi Monday

I have been eyeing the Chocolate Mochi Donuts from Snixy Kitchen for quite a while. This past dreary, rainy week was the perfect time to finally give the recipe a go. If you have jumped on the mochi band wagon like me, you are familiar with mochi donuts. It is a delicious gluten-free, baked not fried (a la Third Culture Bakery), donut alternative.

Mochi donuts are delightfully chewy and springy. If you live in the Bay Area you might have found yourself standing in line for hours at the Modo Donuts’ pop-up at Mitsuwa Market. You could easily make a couple of batches of mochi donuts in the time you stood in line. These donuts, like Hawaiian Butter Mochi or Mochi Muffins, start with Sweet Rice Flour. My go-to brand is Mochiko by Koda Farms, pretty widely available. Bob’s Red Mill also has SWEET rice flour (do NOT use plain Rice Flour) that you can find at Whole Foods.

PSA: If you like to bake, especially yeast breads, get a scale. You’re welcome.

These Chocolate Mochi Donuts are so easy to make. If you make brownies in a bowl with a wooden spoon, this is the mochi equivalent. Besides the sweet rice flour, the rest of the ingredients are probably sitting in your pantry, cocoa, dark chocolate, butter, and eggs. Okay, you need coconut milk too, which you may not have on hand-Asian markets and most larger supermarkets carry coconut milk (unsweetened, not the cocktail kind). Snixy Kitchen topped her donuts with chocolate icing and matcha icing. I opted for a strawberry icing made with freeze-dried strawberries (damn delicious) instead of Matcha. Sprinkles are a no brainer-everybody likes happy donuts.

My next batch of donuts will be a black sesame chocolate donut and yes, there will be a next time and I won’t wait for inclement weather to make them.

The Icing on the Donut

Commit this to memory, FREEZE-DRIED FRUIT. Yep, previously known only to cereal eaters and backpackers, it is my favorite way to add flavor and color to desserts. I used freeze-dried strawberries from TJ’s for the icing on these donuts and was pleasantly surprised at the vibrant color and flavor of the glaze. I actually liked it more than the chocolate icing. Grind the fruit in a mortar and pestle (if you are a pharmacist by trade like me, lol), or smoosh it with a rolling pin. You can use a food processor but that’s no fun. Add the fruit “dust” to powdered sugar and milk, and bada bing, bada boom-strawberry icing. You are limited only by the variety of fruits that are freeze-dried. I frosted half the donuts with chocolate icing for the classic chocolate-on-chocolate donut, and half with the Strawberry Icing. Finish the donuts with sprinkles, jimmies, chocolate curls, whatever your little heart desires cause that’s how we roll or sprinkle.

So, if you want something a little different, or need a dessert for gluten-intolerant friends or family-make these donuts. Not in the mood for chocolate? Try Butter Mochi Muffins, or Peanut Butter Mochi from Two Red Bowls, or Mango Mochi Muffins all fabulous options.

Don’t have a donut pan because you don’t have an addiction to kitchenware like me? This totally works as muffins. You will need to bake muffins a little longer, I’m guessing 40 minutes but definitely check often with that first batch to figure the optimal baking time.

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Chocolate Mochi Donuts

Delicious gluten-free chocolate donuts made with mochi, sweet rice flour!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword donut, Gluten free, Mochi, mochi donut

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 32

Ingredients

¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing pans 2 ounces
2 cups mochiko sweet rice flour (different from "white rice flour" or "brown rice flour") 320 grams
1 cup organic dark brown sugar (see note) 200 grams
¼ cup cocoa powder or sub in 1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds for a chocolate black sesame version! See note.
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 13.5-13.66- ounce can full-fat coconut milk see note
2 large eggs room temperature
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60-70%, melted and cooled
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Optional for garnish: flaky salt, black sesame seeds, shaved chocolate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Generously grease the sides and top of two non-stick donut pans with soft butter. (Alternatively, you can bake these as muffins - the batter for 1 muffin is the same amount as for 1 donut).
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice flour, dark brown sugar, cocoa powder or black sesame powder, baking powder, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Pour in the melted cooled chocolate and mix until smooth.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.
Divide the batter among the 12 donut cavities of the prepared donut pans, filling each one all the way to the top edge.
Bake 32-35 minutes until the top is set and the donut gently springs back when poked with a finger. It might not spring back as much as a muffin: do not bake any longer than 35 minutes. The donuts crisp up as they cool and if you continue baking them, they'll get ROCK HARD on the outside. If you like your donuts a little gooey, bake 30-31 minutes.
Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing.
Prepare the glaze just before you're ready to glaze the donuts because it will firm up as it sits.

Notes

This recipe is easily halved, makes 6 donuts and 1 muffin.

If making a full recipe, transfer the batter to a Ziploc bag and cut off a corner. Pipe the batter into the rings. Easy peasy.

For the chocolate black sesame version, sub in 1/4 cup ground black sesame seeds instead of cocoa powder. Grind up the black sesame seeds in a coffee grinder, small blender jar, or small food processor until fine like a powder. Balck sesame powder can be found in Asian Supermarkets also.

You can also bake these as muffins. The batter for 1 muffin is the same amount as for 1 donut – Bake for ~45 minutes, check to not overbake!

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Strawberry Icing or Glaze

Icing made with freeze-dried strawberries, tasty and vibrant

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Prep Time 5

Ingredients

2 cups powdered sugar divided
½ cup freeze dried strawberries*
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup milk
dash salt
Sprinkles, chocolate curls, decorating sugars, Jimmies

Instructions

Combine powdered sugar, salt and freeze-dried strawberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process for a minute or two or until strawberries are powderized. Alternatively, use a motar and pestle or rolling pin to pulverize strawberries. Add powdered to sugar and continue with next step.
Pour mixture into a medium-size bowl. Add milk and stir until smooth, adding more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls if glaze is too thick to spread. If too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar.
The icing will set so make this wile the donuts are cooling.
Spread quickly on donuts and sprinkle with toppings before it sets.

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Chocolate Icing or Glaze for Donuts

Chocolate on Chocolate Donuts With Sprinkles

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Chocolate Icing

Prep Time 10

Ingredients

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate 60-74%, melted and cooled
2-2½ tablespoons milk or coconut milk
1 cup powdered sugar sifted
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Combine melted and cooled chocolate with 1 tablespoon milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Add remaining milk, a splash at a time, just until it's smooth enough to glaze. It should be thick enough that when you swirl it, the swirl stays for a few seconds then collapses back into itself.
It will firm up as it sits, if it's too thin, let it sit for a few minutes and give it another stir. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk or zap it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.
Vary the type of chocolate, milk, semi-sweet, bittersweet and don't forget the sprinkles

Notes

Recipe can be esily halved

Mango Mochi Muffins Triple M Play

By threejamigos | January 18, 2021 | Comments 1 comment

More Mochi Madness

One of the most popular posts on 3Jamigos is Muffin been the Mochi that Caught My Eye (Butter Mochi Muffins) I stumbled upon the original recipe on Snixy Kitchen, a gorgeous site focused on gluten-free baking and cooking. For good reason this recipe is popular, the muffins are chewy, dense, moist and delicious. I decided I needed to expand my horizon and try different flavorings for the mochi muffins. A quick search yielded an array of flavors folks have tried, ube, chocolate, and milk tea.

The Milk Tea Muffins from Match Berry Kitchen caught my eye. I love Milk Tea, apparently, so do lots of people judging by the number of Boba places in the South Bay. The proverbial Newton’s apple epiphany popped in my head, tea, mango, coconut, hmmm. I thought Mango Sticky Rice, one of my favorite desserts, could I morph it into a mochi muffin?

Let’s Do This

I pulled out a box of Mango Tea I had bought in Seoul, freeze-dried mango chips from TJ’s, coconut milk and a box of Sweet Rice Flour.

The beauty of Mochi Muffins is they are REALLY easy to make. A bowl, a spoon, or spatula, and you are in business. You can crush the mango pieces with a rolling pin or drop it in a mini food processor or blender. If you don’t have coconut milk you can use evaporated milk, or regular milk. I like coconut milk, especially with mango. I brewed a strong cup of mango tea, and combined it with coconut milk, butter, and egg. By using mango tea, the flavor is very subtle, you could use mango juice or puree for a more pronounced flavor or fold in bits of fresh mango (baking time will be on the long side due to moisture from the fruit). Add wet ingredients to the dry, stir a couple of times, done. Literally, 5 minutes of prep and then into the oven.

The batter is pourable, use either a scoop or pour into buttered muffin tin cups. Fill to within 1/8 inch from the top. This will make approximately 8 muffins, not too many. Garnish with coconut or with sesame seeds., both give an extra layer of texture. I used flaked coconut since I did not have shredded which I would have preferred. Baking time is in the range of 32-35 minutes. Shorter baking time insures a gooey, chewy texture while baking the muffins longer would make them cakier and less chewy. Your choice.

Another gluten-free winner!

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Mango Mochi Muffins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword mango, Mochi, mochi muffin, muffin

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Ingredients

1 cup of Mochiko sweet glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup of golden cane sugar
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp ground freeze-dried mango
2 tablespoons or 1/8 cup of unsalted butter and a bit extra for greasing the muffin pan
3 Mango flavored teabags
~ 1/2 cup of coconut milk reg or light
1 large egg
1 tablespoon of condensed milk
Muffin pan

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease the muffin pan with a little bit of melted butter
Steep tea bags in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 10 minutes then drain excess liquid from the tea bags and take them out
Add coconut milk until you have 3/4 cup of milk+tea.
Combine Mochiko, sugar, ground mango and baking powder in a large mixing bowl
In a separate bowl melt the unsalted butter then stir in the egg, condensed milk and coconut milk tea mixture, blend ingredients thoroughly.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients and whisk till the mixture has no lumps
Scoop or pour the mixture into the wells of the muffin pan
Bake in the oven for 32-35 minutes then remove and let cool for around 30 minutes before taking the muffins out of the pan

Notes

If you want the muffins to be sweeter, add more condensed milk
If you want the muffins to have a stronger tea taste, increase the number of tea bags for the steeping step
For a crispier bottom use a metal muffin pan or bake the muffins for longer
Mochi muffins are best stored at room temperature in an air-tight container or freeze and reheat.
For mango madness, add diced fresh mango to batter
Definitely try different flavors. For milk tea, use black tea bags, omit mango powder. There are an array of freeze-dried fruits available including raspberry, strawberry and blueberry.

A Tale of Two Pancakes and Sushi

By threejamigos | May 20, 2019 | Comments 2 comments

Nothing beats coming home. Though we had a blast on our trip to Korea and Japan, it always feels good to open the front door, drop the bags and sleep in my OWN bed! Aaaaahhhh, bliss.

What else is nice, hmmmmmm

HOME COOKING

Yep, time to get back in my kitchen and make a mess. I envisioned our first day back, a big pot of rice soup (congee), kick up our feet, and flip on the telly to catch up with the Warriors and Sharks.

But before going home we spent our last day in Japan running around Osaka looking for early morning sushi, soufflé pancakes and Michelin starred Instant Ramen. We went 2 for 3, couldn’t find the Instant Ramen which was just as well since I couldn’t fit much more in my suitcase anyway.

Breakfast of Champions

At 6:30 am we found ourselves sitting in a small sushi place at the Osaka Fish Market, Endo Sushi. Surprisingly, we were not alone nor the first ones there. To make it easy, there is a set menu of sushi flights. Each flight focus was different, shellfish, fish, tuna. Fresh and delicious we ordered a set each, then another, then another to share. Not a bad way to start the day.

My Happy Place

From there we headed back to town. It was only 8:30. Yes, enough time to find soufflé pancakes, the current rage. So we head to Happy Pancake which doesn’t open until 10AM. First in line baby, uh-huh. The perks of getting up early.

Happy Pancakes with butter and syrup. Number two on the bucket list, checked off.

Light, fluffy, souffle-like, and EGGY. Now, this might be your cup of tea…but for me, they were just way too eggy tasting, reminded me of a French omelet. Y’all, if I wanted eggs, I would have ordered eggs. I hear there is a joint in Stonestown in San Francisco, and after a three-hour wait, you can try them…Me? Nah. I want real pancakes.

When we finally made it home, top on my breakfast bucket list (or due to my screwed up time-clock, dinner bucket list), PANCAKES of course. I pulled out my current favorite cookbook, A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan of the blog Two Red Bowls and flipped to her recipe for Buttermilk Mochi Pancakes.

Her little tweak is genius. Using half all-purpose flour and half sweet rice flour, you end up with a light fluffy pancake with a nice, subtle, chew or elasticity and a tiny hint of that rice/mochi flavor. It’s not eggy. It’s pancakey! I love it. It’s delicious. If you are a fan of the latest rage..mochi donuts and muffins, you’ll love these griddlecakes.

It’s an easy batter to whip up. I did stray from the recipe a bit. I decided to whip the egg white and gently fold it into batter. The recipe calls for just adding in the unbeaten egg white, but whipping the whites hopefully, adds air and lightness to the batter so I took the extra step.

Mix wet ingredients with dry ingredients just to incorporate.

Whip egg white until soft peaks and gently fold into batter

CHEAT tip: Use an ice cream scoop to dole out the batter.

If you use a non-stick pan, you won’t need oil or butter on your pan.

These babies are so badass. You need to try them. If you don’t have sweet rice flour, use 100% AP flour, you’ll get perfectly respectable traditional pancakes but really, get yourself some sweet rice flour. You’ll thank me, plus you now have rice flour to make her delicious Peanut Butter Mochi.

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Buttermilk Mochi Pancakes

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword Butttermilk Mochi Pancakes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 10

Servings 3

Ingredients

1/2 cup 63gm all-purpose flour
1/2 cup 70gm sweet rice flour like Mochiko Blue Star
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg separated
1/2 cup Greek yogurt whole yogurt
1/2 cup milk of your choice I used 2%, I also warmed the milk before combining milk, butter and egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled, plus more for the pan and for serving
maple syrup or syrup of your choice for serving

Instructions

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Separate egg, reserve egg yolk in small bowl. Place egg white in a medium small bowl and whisk until soft peaks are formed.
Add the egg yolk, yogurt, milk, and melted butter, and stir until just incorporated.
Gently fold egg white into batter.
Heat a 10-inch or 12-inch cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium flame until a drop of water sizzles when it hits the pan. Lightly grease the skillet with butter (or flavorless vegetable oil), or if using a non-stick pan, forego greasing.
Use a measuring cup or a large ice cream scoop to drop 1/4 cup batter onto the pan.
When the edges of the pancake look dry and bubbles begin to form in the center, approximately 2 minutes, flip and cook on the second side until lightly golden, 1 to 2 more minutes.
Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter. If desired, use an ovenproof plate (or a metal rack on a baking sheeand place the finished pancakes in the oven on its lowest heat setting to keep them warm while you cook the rest.
Serve immediately, with butter and maple syrup.

Notes

Add rice flour to your pancakes for a delightful twist! The rice flour adds a bit of elasticity and flavor while the pancake is still tender and fluffy. The best of both worlds for these mochi pancakes!

Peanut Butter Mochi, that’s my Jam

By threejamigos | April 2, 2019 | Comments 7 comments

My cookbook addiction continues unabated. One of my new favorites is A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan. It’s a beautiful cookbook filled with not only mouthwatering photographs of her food but wonderful stories about her family and friends. Her recipes are approachable and her writing inviting. In contrast to the cookbooks of yesteryear, today’s cookbooks, like A Common Table, breathe life, warmth, and a personal connection into each recipe. It makes me want to call my Mom, my kids, my aunties and uncles and say, “Hey, come on over we gonna cook, eat, and talk story”.

Have You Eaten Yet? (code for I ❤️ you)

This is not a cookbook that strives to teach one to cook, it’s more like a series of love letters, first and foremost to her family and friends, and then to all of us. Her soulful, homey food reflects her southern upbringing, her Chinese heritage, her hubby’s Hawaiian-Korean-Irish roots, and their lives together. These are recipes I imagine are passed down from grandmother to mother and mother to daughter. Each generation adding its own personal stamp.

Two Red Bowls is Cynthia’s blog, ground zero for her food and family tales. She has managed to juggle a toddler, a newborn, a blog, and a book, no small feat. Wow!

Onto her delicious food. Needing a gluten-free dessert to bring to a potluck, I instantly thought of the peanut butter mochi in her book. Mochi, made of glutinous rice flour, is chewy, dense, and all the craze right now. Imagine a marshmallow but dense, chewy, and only slightly sweet. Mallows on roids. To top it off, soooo easy to make. Literally, one bowl plus a wooden spoon. The addition of peanut butter brings a familiar flavor and texture to the mochi, a great intro for the uninitiated. Did I mention GLUTEN FREE?

The gold standard for rice flour and readily available is Koda Farms Blue Star Mochiko. Ground into a fine powder, it blends quickly and is easy to work with. Throw the flour, sugar, eggs, and milk in a bowl. Stir, don’t worry about overmixing (no gluten), pour, and bake. The batter will resemble a thick, elastic pancake batter.

Plop the peanut butter evenly into the batter so that everyone gets a bite of peanut butter, and then it’s oven time. Midway through baking, sprinkle crushed peanuts on top. Next time I am thinking of using honey-roasted peanuts, to really accentuate the play on sweet and salty. The batter will puff while baking, not to worry, it will flatten as the mochi is cooling.

Once it has cooled a bit, dig in, warm mochi is yummy. I cut mine into squares and then further divided half of the squares into rectangular bars. Just so delicious, the combo of chewy mochi, pockets of oozy soft peanut butter, and the crunchy peanut topping-the trifecta of yum. It’s hard to resist and eat just one. It’s dense in texture and calories but so worth it!

I think you could make this milk-free by using coconut milk in place of milk. I have yet to try it. Andrea Nguyen, Asian cookbook author extraordinaire created a riff by adding black sesame paste, Black Sesame Peanut Butter Mochi, which looks delish, I am so going to make her version soon.

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5 from 2 votes

Peanut Butter Mochi

Gluten free and delicious. Made with sweet rice flour a dense, chewy, a totally addicting treat! A quick and easy recipe!

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine Asian, Asian-American

Keyword Mochi, peanut butter, sweet rice flour

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings 16 Servings

Ingredients

Filling

6 Tbsp Peanut butter Natural, creamy or chunky
2 Tbsp Powdered sugar

Cake

1-1/2 Cups Sweet rice flour 225gm
3/4 Cup Granulated sugar
1/8 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Whole milk
1/2 Cup Vegetable oil
2 Eggs
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Roasted peanuts Or substitute honey roasted peanuts
1 Tbsp Brown sugar Optional, to be added to plain roasted peanuts,

Instructions

For the peanut butter filling, whisk together the peanut butter and confectioner’s sugar until smooth. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper, letting the paper go up the sides so you can easily lift the cake out later on.
In a medium bowl, combine the sweet rice flour, sugar, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla, whisk until smooth. Don’t worry about overworking the batter when making the cake, sweet rice flour is GLUTEN FREE.
Pour half the batter into the prepared baking dish. Used 2 small spoons or small teaspoon ice cream scoop to drop spoonfuls of the filling evenly across the batter, then pour the remaining batter over the filling. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
While the mochi is baking, place the peanuts in a food processor or blender and pulse until finely chopped. Remove the mochi cake from the oven, sprinkle of the crushed peanuts across the top. The cake maybe puffy so spread nuts as evenly as you can. The cake will fall as it cools.
Return the cake to the oven and bake until the center bounces back when pressed, an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool about 20 minutes before trying to lift the parchment paper to remove the cake from the pan.
Enjoy warm or at room temperature. The mochi slices cleanly when cool, but is delish warm.
Store in an airtight container and keep at room temp if cool, or refrigerate. Microwave pieces on high with 15-second blasts to refresh.

Muffin been the Mochi that Caught My Eye (Butter Mochi Muffins)

By threejamigos | February 21, 2019 | Comments 62 comments

Always searching for new and different treats, I came across an article that spotlighted Third Culture Bakery in Berkeley. The baker is an alum of Cal (Go Bears) who chose food over toxicology (good choice) and thus Mochi Muffins made with sweet rice flour were put on the map. Though I haven’t made it to Berkeley to try one, I found a couple of recipes online that sounded scrumptious, so it was off to the rices! Update: I just posted a new mochi muffin recipe, Mango Mochi Muffins made with mango tea and freeze-dried mangos! It’s small-batch baking, only 8 regular size delicious muffins.

My Sweet Rice, Oh My Rice

For the uninitiated, mochi (sweet rice flour) is a cornerstone of Asian treats. Sweet rice is PULVERIZED into flour to which water and flavorings are added. It ends up looking like the BLOB, really. It can be flavored, baked, steamed, fried and made into countless delicious treats both sweet and savory. During New Year’s, Japanese families gather to pound mochi in a tradition called Mochitsuki. Just for your viewing pleasure here is Mitsuo Nakatani, Japanese Mochi Master. Enjoy.

Traditional mochi starts with steamed rice and is pounded and shaped into sweet or savory rice cakes. Mochi muffins and Hawaiian Butter Mochi start with sweet rice flour, mixed with liquids, and baked. Since I don’t foresee any of us pounding mochi, let’s make muffins and Hawaiian Mochi. Infinitely easier and pretty darn tasty.

Back on the Muffin Trail

If you have ever had Manju from Shuei-Do Sweet Shop in Japantown in San Jose, or Butter Mochi from Hawaii and liked it…you’re going to love these. If you haven’t had mochi, this is a good introduction. Not quite as gooey as Manju and definitely not cakey like a muffin, it’s a delicious hybrid of the two. A touch of sweetness, crispy on the outside, dense and chewy on the inside, and crunchy from the generous sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. It’s different but delicious. If that wasn’t enough, they are GLUTEN-FREE. You’re welcome.

Rice, Rice, Baby

The most important item in the pic is the Mochiko Sweet Rice Flour by Koda Farms. This is the go-to brand. You can definitely find it in any Asian store (along with the sesame seeds), and if you’re lucky, at some of your larger local markets. Take a walk down the international/ethnic food aisle.

I found quite a few recipes for Mochi Muffins online and finally settled on one from a beautiful blog called Snixy Kitchen. Her batch made 12 muffins, which made her recipe the frontrunner as most made 24. As yummy as they are, what am I going to do with 24 muffins?!

The batter comes together in a snap: melted butter, coconut milk, egg, brown sugar, and rice flour. Stir together and pour into a muffin tin. Boom, done. My batter was thicker than some of the posts I’ve seen. This may account for the slight dome mine had. I also found a recipe from Saimin Noshrat in the NYT. I think I may try a couple of her tweaks the next time I make these. Trust me, there will be a next time. I will use light brown sugar, substitute evaporated milk for some of the coconut milk, and brown my butter. Not to worry, a full report will follow. Hmmm, can’t wait to make another batch.

The longer you leave these in the oven, the less gooey and more cake-like they will be. The first batch was baked for 60 minutes. I think I should have pulled them out sooner, I like gooey. Now I check at 40 minutes and pull them out around 45 minutes. To test them, use a knife to poke the center of a muffin. It should come out fairly clean with a bit of crumb.

More Mochi Madness

After making these muffins if you like the chewiness, definitely try the Hawaiian Butter Mochi Muffins, inspired by Aloha Kitchen by Alana Kysar. A little less flour and a bit more liquid kick up the gooey, buttery, lusciousness of these bites. Bake them in a muffin tin for crispy edges. I ADORE both of these muffins.

These are soooo good, a little more squishy, very buttery, topped with shredded coconut.

Also check out Peanut Butter Mochi from A Common Table by Cynthia Chen McTernan. Delish! LOVE, love, LOVE

If you would like to try traditional Japanese Mochi, here are my recommendations: Fugetsu-Do in Little Tokyo in LA, the oldest family-owned Japanese Shop in the US, Shuei Do Manju Shop in San Jose, and in my hometown of SF, Benkyodo Company in Japantown (now closed😢😢😢 ). All family-owned artisan shops.

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4.50 from 18 votes

Butter Mochi Muffins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Asian-American

Keyword coconut milk, Gluten free, mochi muffin

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Ingredients

1/4 cup (2 ounces )unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing pans sub brown-butter
2 cups (320 grams) mochiko sweet rice flour Koda Farms
1 cup (200 grams) organic dark brown sugar* light or dark brown sugar will work
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 tsp sea salt
1 13 ounce can full-fat coconut milk Sub evaporated milk, half to all
2 large eggs room temperature
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses optional, added for flavor or use Golden Syrup or honey
1½ tablespoons each black and toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
Grease the sides and top of a 12-cup muffin tin well with soft butter.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sweet rice flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a large mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla, and molasses.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until completely combined.
Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup all the way to the top.
Sprinkle the tops with black and white sesame seeds.
Bake 45-50 minutes until the top is brown and crispy and the muffin springs back when poked with a finger. Bake for less time. for muffins that are chewier and less cakey. Muffins are done when a skewer comes out relatively clean and the tops are brown.
Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Can be frozen and thawed at room temp.

Notes

Organic dark brown sugar is richer and more caramel-y than conventional, but you can use regular brown sugar.

Any muffin tin will do, but for ultimate crispy exterior, use a dark non-stick muffin tin.

If using a light muffin tin, you may have to bake the muffins a little bit longer.

If keeping them for longer, they'll lose their crispiness after a day or two in storage, put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp again before eating.