Kashiwa Mochi Recipe ( かしわ餅 )

Photo: Uncut Recipes

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TRADITIONAL JAPANESE RECIPE: Kashiwa Mochi is a very traditional Mochi ( Japanese Rice Cake ) mainly cooked during Children's Day, a day when people celebrate the children's growth and happiness.

The peculiarity of Kashiwa Mochi is the Oak Leave that wraps it and the simplicity with which it's made.

On May 5 every year, it’s Children’s Day in Japan, and during this national holiday grown ups and children celebrate by eating Kashiwa Mochi.

Although the Mochi is wrapped in a Oak Leave, the Oak is never consumed. The leaf has a profound meaning, it has nothing to do with the cooking itself. Oak trees don’t shed old leaves until new leaves grow, so Japanese people consider Oak trees a symbol of the prosperity of one’s descendants. But it's not only meaning, because the Oak leaves ( although NOT edible ) transfer their nice earthy fragrance to the Mochi making it uniquely enjoyable.

There are two kind of Kashiwa Mochi, one made with Red Bean Paste, and one made with White Bean Paste.

The most common Kashiwa Mochi is made with Azuki An (小豆餡 ) Red Bean Paste, while the other version is made with Miso An Kashiwa Mochi (味噌餡) White Bean Paste and this is so rare most Japanese people have never tried it.

How can you tell what’s the filling inside? It’s actually differentiated by which way you wrap the mochi with the leaf. For Red Bean filling has the back of leaf facing outside,while the While Bean Paste filling has the veins side facing inside and the smoother side outside.



WARNING:

The buns are chewy and sticky. Given they are far bigger than bite-sized, they need to be laboriously chewed before swallowing.

Anyone who can't chew properly - like children, or the elderly - will be likely to find them hard to eat.

Chew, chew, chew. If that's not possible, the rice cakes need to be cut into smaller pieces.

Each year, authorities issue public warnings in the run-up to the new year festivities advising that people - especially the very young and elderly - should only eat mochi cut down to smaller little chunks.

Yet despite the warnings, each year there continue to be deaths linked to the dish.

At the turn of 2014 to 2015, the number of casualties peaked at nine. In 2016 it was one, while last year two people died.

Each year, many more end up in critical condition in hospitals across the country.

 

 

 

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Skill Level:	Time: 45 Minutes
Price:	Makes: 10 Mochi

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Ingredients:

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Conversions

 

 

 

Directions:

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01 - Rinse the Oak Leaves under running water.

02 - Dry the Oak Leaves with some paper towel.



03 - With an ice cream scoop or by hand ( wet your hands with water ), scoop 1 heaping spoon of Red Bean Paste ( about 25gr / 0.88oz each ball ) onto your hand and shape it into a ball ( Make 10 Anko balls ).



04 - In a large bowl combine Joshinko, Potato Starch, and Sugar and mix well with a whisk.

05 - Add the Water to the Joshinko/Starch/Sugar mixture and mix well with the same whisk.

06 - Once the mixture looks smooth, loosely cover the bowl with some cling film and microwave it for 4 minutes at 1100 watt.

07 - Loosen the Mochi Dough with a spatula or even better a wooden pestle and mortar. Soak the wooden pestle in water and start pounding. The Mochi Dough will get sticker and shinier at every hit. Soak the pestle in water between poundings to help the Mochi Dough becoming shiny and glossy.

08 - Once the Mochi Dough is done, transfer the Dough on a moist working surface and knead it with your wet hands until glossy, elastic, and smooth.



09 - Cut the Mochi Dough into 10 pieces.

10 - Place 9 Mochi pieces in a plate and cover with cling film to prevent from drying and start working on 1 at a time.

11 - With a rolling pin, roll the Mochi Ball into an oval shaped disk.

12 - Place one Red Bean Paste Ball in the center of the Mochi disk and fold in half to seal the edge.

13 - Wrap the Mochi in an Oak Leaf. Serve.

Notes:

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- If you've bought Dry Oak Leaves, boil them for 10 minutes and then Soak in fresh water to cool and dry with a paper towel.

- STEP 06: Please adjust the cook time according to your microwave’s power.

- STEP 12: When you seach the Mochi, your fingers must not have Anko Paste on it. If your fingers have Anko Paste the sides won’t stick together.

- STEP 13: The back side of the leaf ( the side with more visible veins ) must face the outside, while the front more smoother side must hug the Mochi.

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Written by: Uncut Recipes

Disclaimer

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