First up, Japan! I have been interested in Japanese culture, language, food, etc for over a decade (:0) I've studied Japanese, & in 2005 I was lucky enough to travel to Japan whilst studying the language. Much of my Japanese language skills have dissolved over the years, however I still draw a lot of inspiration from Japan, & regularly investigate recipes, movies, etc for ideas :)
Recently, along with a couple of friends, we experimented with making mochi.
Mochi is essentially a soft, (often slightly sweetened) dough, made from glutinous rice flour. It's not overly complicated to make, however, it's quite different from any western cooking that I had encountered, & it can be a bit intimidating. More info >>> Mochi
Many recipes use a microwave, but I shun electrical appliances, so I found a more traditional technique, where the dough is steamed instead.
When the dough is ready, you then wrap it around a filling of choice, in this case we used fresh strawberries + chocolate, it was amazing o_o Prepared in this way, they are known as Daifuku, & are very popular around the world :) More info >>> Daifuku.
Another popular filling for daifuku (which I really love) is sweet red bean paste, commonly known in Japan as 'Anko'
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These are our daifuku -
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They were a little rough, but they tasted really good, they were by far the best batch we have made so far :)
The process of wrapping the mochi dough around the filling is a little tricky, & takes practice, but it's fun too.
Here's a great recipe for making daifuku, it's a little different to how we did it, but it gives you a good starting point to work from :)
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I'll post the recipe I use soon, after I make some more!
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Secondly, & completely unrelated to mochi, or Japan, is my Finn figurine!
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LOOK AT HIMMM!!!
He valiantly stands guard beside our TV, I feel happy very morning when I see him :) Now I just need a Jake to go by his side...
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