I have great friends - have I mentioned this before? Let me give you an example - Friday afternoon, I received a text from my friend Kristina saying "Mochi? Want me to pick some up for you?"
Of course, there is only one answer to this question. It is a resounding Y-E-S!
She informed me that the occasion for this little field trip was to celebrate National Donut Day. National Donut Day! Now there's a holiday that warrants a celebration!
We happen to have an amazing source for mochi and manju in the city, Benkyodo in Japantown. It is a pretty unassuming little shop, with a funny little diner-type counter in one corner, but let me assure you, anyone who loves mochi has at one point made the pilgrimage there. A lot of places in Japantown sell pre-packaged mochi, and they are nothing like the fresh ones at Benkyodo. I remember the first time I bit into one of the strawberry mochi with its smooth and soft gummy exterior, and sweet strawberry filling - heaven. I was forever spoiled.
The amazingly soft casing of the mochi is made by pounding rice in a huge mortar. It is pulverized until it forms a soft pillow of glutenous goodness. It's long and difficult work and the equipment is hard to come by - so unless you inherit a business, it's pretty unlikely that the average person is going to say "Hey, I think I'll open up a mochi shop". Hopefully Benkyodo will stay around forever, or the prospect of having fresh mochi in our city will probably die out.
A fun tidbit about mochi that I stole off the internet:
"Mochi is very sticky and somewhat tricky to eat. After each new year, it is reported in the Japanese media how many people die from choking on mochi. The victims are usually elderly. Because it is so sticky, it is difficult to dislodge via the Heimlich maneuver. In the Japanese comedy film Tampopo, a house vacuum is used to suck it out. (Some lifesaving experts say that a vacuum cleaner is actually efficient for stuck mochi.[1])" - Wikepedia
Enjoy these lovely treats...at your own risk!! :)
So the sampling above is 4 out of the 6 mochi and manju that I was given. You have to eat them quickly or they will go stale - in the first couple of days. No problem, I had it covered! I like them for breakfast with a hot mug of genmaicha tea. The flavors were red bean, white bean, apple, and a donut filled with red bean. Deeeeeelicious. I love how they are expanding their flavors from the traditional to include something a little trendy.
Asian desserts are typically not very sweet (think of Green Tea and Red Bean ice cream). So if the idea of red bean paste inside a donut seems weird to you, it is, a little. It takes some getting used to, but personally, I like it. Mochi and manju are the perfect size, too - about the size of a donut hole. But because the filling is very dense, you can only eat a few at a time - 2 or 3 is about right. Many Japanese restaurants serve ice cream mochi in green tea, mango, chocolate and strawberry flavors. You can even get them frozen from Trader Joe's and other grocery stores.
Next time you are going to a dinner party or pot luck, think about bringing some mochi. They're excellent finger food and are meant to be shared with friends! (Thank you, my friend!)
