International Recipes

Peanut Butter Mochi (with variations)

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

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup honey

Mochi

  • 3 cups water
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 (16 ounce) box mochiko (sweet rice flour)
  • Katakuriko (potato starch) or cornstarch, for dusting
  • Paste food coloring, colors desired

Instructions

  1. Filling: Combine peanut butter and honey; refrigerate until firm, a few hours or overnight.
  2. Mochi: Bring water to a boil; add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add mochiko a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue stirring over medium heat until lumps are dissolved. Stir in paste food color, if desired; Remove from heat.
  3. Place dough on a surface dusted with katakuriko. Allow to cool slightly. Sprinkle with more katakuriko and knead a few times until smooth. Form into a log.
  4. Pinch off a 1 1/2-inch piece of dough and flatten into a circle. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold edges around filling and pinch to seal.

Yield: about 2 dozen mochi

VARIATIONS

Sweet Red Bean Paste Mochi

Chill the red bean paste, then place a small ball of bean paste in the center.

Strawberry Mochi

Coat strawberries in koshi-an (sweet bean paste), then wrap in mochi dough.

Add red food coloring to the boiling water if desired to turn the dough pink, green to turn dough green, blue to turn dough blue, etc..

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Mochi

Substitute chocolate sauce for the honey in the filling, or wrap a chocolate Kiss in the filling.