What are you going to do with all that leftover mochi in your ‘fridge from New Year’s?
There’s only so much ozoni you can make.
Well, you’re in luck!
Our resident foodie Mari Taketa — who’s probably not eating mochi right now in Seoul — has some innovative ways to spice up that boring mochi, a traditional Japanese food served during New Year’s. (You’ll see mochi in ozoni soup, fried with shoyu or doused in kinako flour.)
According to Mari, all you’ll need is some goat cheese and jelly, peanut butter and — our favorite — Nutella.
Don’t believe me? Check out her twist on mochi on today’s Cat Chat.
Got a topic you want me to cover? Post your suggestions here. We love hearing from you!
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26 Comments
by now, CAT, talking with her mouthful is her NSHNL signature. look back at the ‘meet the crew’ video piece.
let’s see: we know Cat is bossy, Cat says Mari is bossy, the Heathen Chinee, Melissa admits she’s bossy. (see ‘fist o’ death’ files) and Diane’s job description is ‘bossy’. J-L is Pinay, so goes without saying. i don’t know about Tracy, but i guess the takeaway is: John, Ed; i feel for ya, guys.
@turkfontaine ahaha! We should re-visit that video and do another round. We need to get more of the crew on ASAP. We have some cooking related chats in mind for nctrnlbst and we need to get Diane and Tracy some facetime as well!
i never get beyond “fry…couple spoons of brown sugar…shoyu to taste”. no need to dress up mochi beyond that . maybe kinako once in a while, but i have to actually make the effort to buy kinako first.
@matti2d finally somebody comes forth w/ measurements for the sugar-shoyu treatment! thnx matti.
re kinako, true. forgot to add that the korean powdered drink mishikaru is a good alternative to kinako-sugar. it has different kinds of roasted beans and comes in individual packets in big bags and tastes pretty much like kinako. can use part of the packet for mochi, then mix the rest w/ milk, soy milk or water and ice and it’s yum.
@nonstopmari i wouldn’t exactly call my “to taste” and “couple of spoons” and exact recipe…more like “what I like”. ymmv.
one thing i’ve been thinking about trying (but haven’t had all the ingredients available at the same time) is a more savory topping for mochi like braised meats. something like buta kakuni might be too sweet, given mochi’s inherent sweetness, but a something richer like shredded wine-braised shortribs?
Cat and Mari-
Awesome video. We used to put sweetened PB in fresh mochi, it was a mixture of PB and granulated sugar to taste. but I wasn’t really a fan of the grittiness of the sugar… I love the kinako sugar on fried mochi… Keep on keepin’ on guys!
Dasssss ruuunnn fuunnnnneeee veejo, so sorrree, mouf fu o moochi ool shtuk
Whoo Hoo, got to see Mari. As for bossy, she got you beat, “Here eat this. Hurry up. Now try this”. I was wondering when the wine was going to be mentioned. I think sake would be good here. Maybe the Choya one. Kinda sweet though.
I love the (non-scary, of course) way that Mari commands, I mean, TELLS Cat to try this, try that, get rid of it! Yes ma’am! And of course the “OMG I’m glad that’s over” sigh at 5:20! LOL
I just tried microwaving my NY mochi with almond spread. Not almond butter, but a creamy, sweet, amaretto-ish spread. Heaven for almond lovers.
Mari + Cat + food, you know stuff is gonna happen.
@WildeOscar I’m surprised we didn’t drink. Well, on camera.
Another great one…
Cat, a suggestion… get an interview from Maynard James Keenan this weekend. Ask him about his winery in AZ, that would fit in with your other two wine related Cat Chats. Really, any member of TOOL would be COOL to have on your interview STOOL, certainly one to make us DROOL and look like a FOOL, and I gotta quit this… LOL!
Anyone with connections to get Cat this interview?
@MaxMaxMax don’t you mean “lool”?
@matti2d Genius! Hahaha… should have thought of that one! Doh!
That was my favorite one yet, loved the drill sergeant!
@dbjack I’m deathly afraid of Mari. 🙂
@Cat Me too… and I nevah met her yet.
Awww… This is so CUTE! Of course the bossy comments are extremely gratifying, having gone my entire life taking orders from ‘dat one… 🙂 Stocking up on mochi now like a squirrel gathering nuts for a long winter. Gotta survive life in rural America sans Japanese grocery store mochi!
@EurekaGal in a non scary way of course!
@Melissa808 of course, of course. More like freaking terrifying, but I think I’ve blocked those episodes out of my memory. 🙂
@EurekaGal @Melissa808 Am I freaky terrifying??? I KNEW IT! 🙂
@Cat,
I suppose, for a girl, that’s much better than being known as “terrifyingly freaky” (not that there’s anything wrong with that)
@Cat @EurekaGal uuuuh…..yeah! Sure, sure! We were talking about Cat being scary! Yes! LOL
CAT & EO: Fuun video! I think the length is perfect…not too long, not too short, not too “rancid”, but jes right! Look forward to CC, now with all the rain, need to find the perfect umbrella…who in Cat’s world is the resident expert?
Fun segment Cat…and Mari is bossy…but in a good way. LOL! Gonna have to kick up that fozen mochi in our freezer now from two years ago…
Thanks for the great mochi ideas Mari and Cat! That package of mochi… I found it here at a small Japanese store in Pineville, NC. It was $20! It had individually wrapped maru shaped mochi. It was a bit steep to me. They also had the dried mochi cut into squares but not individually wrapper for a little cheaper. Luckily I found a small styrofoam of mochi in the freezer for about $4. It was easy to fry out of the freezer and then add water at the end to soften. Yummy with kinako sugar or sugar shoyu. I think the jelly with the creamed cheese would taste great with the mochi!
Great ideas, already tried the Nutella version (for all the nuts) and the puffed oven version stuffed with ice cream, YUM!
Maybe you should do it like wine tasting and spit the mochi out instead of trying to eat it real fast XD.
Fried mochi goes well with with shoyu and maple syrup! Tastes like kakimochi
Fun video!