Monday, September 16, 2013

Mochi Waffles

My letter M post is so ridiculously easy it's almost cheating! The hardest part may be in finding the mochi, or deciding to make it yourself, if you're so inclined. And, of course you do need a waffle iron in order to be able to complete the recipe. Once those two items are in place, however, the actual effort of making mochi waffles is so simple.


Mochi is a traditional Japanese rice cake made by pounding sweet white or brown rice until the grains are crushed. The result is a compact block of pounded rice that has an awesome melting ability when heated.  You can find whole grain mochi at most natural food stores, and white rice mochi at Japanese food markets. I highly recommend the whole grain variety. Although also consumed year round, it is traditionally and commonly eaten in celebration of Japanese New Year.

You'll see mochi in the freezer section of most grocery stores, mixed in with the tubs of Ben and Jerry's, but this is not the mochi you are looking for. That mochi is created as a dessert item and filled with ice cream. You want the plain mochi that is often found with the frozen breads.




Mochi Waffles
Ingredients
1 package of mochi
Batch of Berry Breakfast Ice Cream, or Apple Pie Topping, or Pumpkin Drizzle
or other favorite topping

1. For full size waffles, cut the mochi into cubes, measured about 3 or 4 inches for a four square waffle maker, or to the correct size for your waffle iron. The cubes will spread when cooked, so make sure they are not taking up the entire size of each waffle square.

2. Place the cubes in a hot waffle iron. Cook until puffy and crispy.

3. Top with berry breakfast ice cream (Pictured). Garnish with nuts and mint leaves. Serve while waffle is warm. It will start to get hard as it cools.


No comments:

Post a Comment