It’s the most polarizing holiday of the year! Yay! The Bowl household is pretty neutral on the V-Day. We don’t mind it. But we’re also a tad lazy. So what happens is I end up making goofy foods into heart shapes (what do you mean Spam’s not romantic? And, um, no, I’m pretty sure bindaetteok were meant to be made into hearts), then we just pig out and watch movies in our sweatpants.
Yep. This is a thing that happens in the Bowl Home for Valentine’s Day.
In his defense, Bowl #2 has more initiative than me — last year he strung fairy lights all around his basement bedroom before I got home, and that was pretty awesome. I love fairy lights. (This year, we’ll have ’em too, because why? Because we still haven’t taken down our fairy lights from Christmas. Aw yeah. Laziness win.)
So, in the spirit of Bowl #2’s sentimentality, I tried my hand at making something that’s actually cute in a heart shape. Or … (yet another) type of mochi. After my first post on plain mochi, the idea of rose-flavored mochi popped into my head and would. not. leave. Rose mochi, you guys. Like Turkish delight that wandered into the Asian side of Turkey and then kept going til it hit Japan, then met some mochi and made Turkish moch-elight babies. What could possibly be better?! Nothing, that’s what. Nothin’.
I made a few slight adaptations to the recipe here — it’s only a half-batch this time, and I subbed in a lighter milk than coconut (I used almond). You can use the original coconut milk recipe and simply add a tablespoon or two of rosewater — it’ll work just as well (in fact, better). This recipe came out a bit softer (dangerously so when it first came out of the oven) but still held together in the end, yielding the same pillowy soft texture, but with the added headiness of that alluring, Edmund and the White Witch, Turkish Delight-ful rose flavor. This is maybe my favorite thing ever, y’all. So so good. (Just like a Turkish moche-light baby.)
Note: Having compared side-by-side, I still have to say that the original recipe with coconut milk is noticeably superior — it’s just richer, with a luxuriously sweet depth of flavor. But if you don’t have much use for coconut milk (and I didn’t) using whatever milk you have on hand will still work.
PrintRose Mochi
a half-batch recipe for lighter mochi, based on this recipe. To make this according to the full-fat coconut milk recipe, omit the almond milk, and instead use 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp coconut milk. You may also want to decrease the sweet rice flour to 1/2 cup.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sweet rice flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 cup almond milk (soy or regular milk would likely work, as well)
- 1/2 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp rosewater
- one drop red food coloring (optional)
- starch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line a 9×9 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mochiko, sugar, and baking powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together the almond milk, oil, rosewater, and food coloring. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until the mixture is smooth and no lumps remain. Unlike most baking, you don’t need to worry about overmixing the ingredients, since mochi is dense and chewy to begin with. So whisk away! Alternatively, if you have this nifty food processor you could win below (ee!), combine the mochiko, sugar, and baking powder in the food processor and pulse to sift together. Pour the almond milk, oil, rosewater, and food coloring into the food processor and pulse again until well-incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into your lined baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 60 minutes. The mochi is done when it is soft and gelatinous but holds its shape when touched. Note that it’s important to cover the mochi. Leaving it uncovered, as is the way with Chinese red bean rice cake, will result in a drier, cakier texture.
- Let cool completely or overnight. Dust a surface with your starch (alternatively, you can simply use more mochiko flour) and turn the mochi onto the surface. Sprinkle starch over the mochi. Wrap a knife in Saran wrap to prevent the mochi sticking. Using the wrapped knife, cut the mochi into small pieces, then dust again with starch or flour, and serve. Alternatively, you can use a small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut individual mochi pieces out that way.
Notes
Sadly, if you do the cookie cut-outs for these mochi pieces, you won’t be able to reuse the scraps, so it’s best to try to cut them as closely as you can — and then just chop up the scraps to use as froyo topping! Or gobble it up in one go.
Last but not least! (More like, last but most.)
For my first blog Valentine’s Day, I’m teaming up with these lovely bloggers below to participate in my (first ever) giveaway. Sherrie at With Food + Love and Gina at So…Let’s Hang Out have put together a “Share the Love” giveaway, where we’ll be giving away this 14-cup Brushed Stainless Steel Cuisinart Food Processor. I have the 3-cup version of this food processor and it has never once steered me wrong. I use it for red bean paste, pie crusts, mincing anything and everything — it’s wonderful. And you can even use it to make this mochi, as I’ve noted above. Enter by liking me or anyone on the list below on Facebook or Pinterest below using the widget — you get extra entries for everyone you like. The giveaway runs from today until February 21st 25th! Deadline extended until Tuesday! Sherrie will be organizing the gift for the winner. Readers must be 18 to enter and must be located in (or be willing to have it shipped to) the continental United States. Good luck! 🙂
Janine
Yum your mochi both look and sound awesome! Never tried making it before but it’s on my list of things to make – Will definitely refer back to this recipe when I do! Happy v-day!
tworedbowls
Aw, thank you so much, Janine! Can’t wait to see your version 🙂
saucygander
Turkish moche-light baby – love it!! How could I, or anyone really, say no to a recipe like this? We are also lazy valentines day-ers, I tried to cut heart shapes out of puff pastry, free hand, so they ended up delightfully, um, rustic! 😀
tworedbowls
Haha! I am all about the rusticity. (Completely intentional, of course.) Cheers to lazy V-Days, and wishing you a happy one! 🙂
cheri
Those rose colored hearts are so adorable!
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Cheri! 🙂
Jane Y.
i just realized yesterday that i followed you on twitter but not your blog! where have i been?! i love your rose mochi! mochi is actually one of my favorite things. 🙂 and what a great giveaway! thank you!
tworedbowls
Yay!! So excited to have you, Jane!!! Love your blog 🙂 thanks so much for the sweet words!
Lan | morestomach
twins! heart shaped treats are the best for vday.
i may have to hand in my asian card, but i don’t think i’ve ever had mochi before. dw may have, which wouldn’t surprise me, cus he’s more asian than me.
PS. i was just telling him the other day that spam is such an underrated food, and i keep meaning to grab me a can every time i’m at the market!
PS. what a great giveaway, i do not need to enter, but i can vouch for the great product as ours is fab.
tworedbowls
Word to allll of this! Happy V-Day, Lan! (Also, I realized right after I submitted my comment to your blog that I called your hubs “morestomach” and not dw… ha. #isinstagramreallife?)
Shikha la mode
Such a cool giveaway and a cool tweak to your mochi recipe! I was literally JUST reading the recipe last night in hopes to attempt it – I’m still nervous, hah!
tworedbowls
Don’t be!!! It’s super easy, I promise. 🙂 I did get a comment on the Food52 recipe last week saying that it didn’t work out (WOEeee I was so sad) because it came out really gooey….. So I had to retry it to regain my confidence! If you do give it a shot, just don’t panic if it seems really soft when it first comes out of the oven 🙂 it’ll gel up much more once it cools, especially if it gets properly cold. Alternatively, you can just use 2-4 tbsp less liquid, and it’ll bake up much firmer (though I like the taste of the higher liquid version better!)
OK… I’m rambling. Anyway — you can doooooo it!! 😀
Diane Karalunas
Every since I saw your mochi recipe on Food52, I’ve been making batch after batch. I can’t get enough of the stuff! My latest incarnation was a thai tea mochi (just infused the water in the recipe with two tablespoons of thai tea), so wonderful and completely addictive. Valentines Day makes me want to flip a table, but your rose version is completely adorable and looks equally as delicious. Thank you for the inspiration!
tworedbowls
Diane, your comment made my DAY! And I am obsessed with the idea of Thai tea mochi! (Darn, and here I was just thinking I was finally done with making it! I’ve been a mochi factory myself lately, if you couldn’t tell.) I hope it was the most gorgeous orange color 🙂
Thank you for such a wonderful comment — it is really the best kind to read. Happy non-Valentine’s Day 😉
Diane
You are so welcome! And yes, the thai tea version was that glorious rusty orange shade. Now that I’m among fellow mochi addicts, I will add I made two other versions… one was with Earl Grey tea and whole cream (kind of an East Meets West version). My absolute favorite was a delicate mint version. I infused the cream with mint leaves (stems and everything) and added a couple of drops of vanilla along with a teeny bit of green food coloring. It was like a really earthy, fresh shamrock shake if that makes any sense at all. I think the reason I’m so in love with this recipe is the versatility and room for creativity, much like truffles. I’ve literally scoured my cabinets looking for fun combos – lol! Thanks again, and I’m looking forward to trying other recipes on your lovely blog!
tworedbowls
Simply incredible, Diane! I am blown away. Did you post these on Food52? The entire world should know about your genius takes on this! Thank you!
Tasty Yummies
OH my gosh what a perfect recipe. I LOVE mochi. Your photos are just soo beautiful.
I am sooo happy to have connected with you xoxo
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Beth!! I’m thrilled to have found you too 🙂 Happy V-day!
Katie @ Butterlust Blog
I’ve been loving your recent mochi obsession. I’m inspired to try making it myself!!
tworedbowls
Ha, I’m glad it’s not wearing you out!! 🙂 Let me know your thoughts if you give it a shot!
Gina @ So Let's Hang Out
Oooh lala! How cute. I’m Hawaiian and no one has ever made me spam hearts. I kind of feel cheated. 😉 So happy that Em introduced me to your pretty blog! I plan on lurking around for a while… don’t mind me. Lurk, lurk, lurk.
tworedbowls
The horror! That’s gotta be remedied ASAP. (Though, pretty sure my Hawaii bf never got a Spam heart either before his weird Southern gf came along and started mutilating his poor breakfast. So there’s that. Also, um. What about heart-shaped MUSUBI. :O I’m morbidly captivated.) And yay, so happy to have you, Gina!! Thanks for organizing this shindig!
emily
Girl, you are just so damn good at this food blog thing. Gorgie porgie! Also, is it a faux pas to BYOMochi to the local yogurt parlor? Like all, “Sorry, your tough little nubs are nothing compared to these silky wonders. Like a babe’s butt, I tell ya!” If I get unscared of trying these for myself I might just see how that goes over…
tworedbowls
HAHA Emily I just lol’ed in my office. A babe’s butt. Why are you the best? (But really, I do think these are way better than the store’s! I wasn’t even a huge fan of mochi until I started stuffing my face with this homemade kind.) Don’t be scurred! You can do it!!! <3 Happy V-Day, Em!
movita beaucoup
This is just to say that I thought you hadn’t posted a post in, like, months, because I thought I had you in my feedly, BUT SOMEHOW YOU FELL OUT OF MY FEEDLY. And now I’m realizing that you’ve been doing awesome interwebbing without me, and I have about 400 posts to catch up on.
In the meantime, you are my honorary Valentine.
tworedbowls
HAHA Movita, you cracked me up when I read this. And here I thought I was just mind-numbingly boring. Yeah, I moved from WP.com to self-hosted through WP.org a few months ago and I think that cut off my old Feedly, but I lost the ability to post on the old one to let people know! I saw my, like, 2 readers at the time and thought …. well, it’s just 2 readers. I guess one of them was you!
HONORARY VALENTINE?? Oh my I’m all aflutter. Off to mail some Spam hearts to Halifax…..
thatskinnychickcanbake
I am a bit relieved those hearts are not SPAM 🙂 We had leftover soup and leftover cookies for our Valentine’s Day dinner, so you look like a saint in comparison! I have no idea what mochi is, so thanks for exposing me (must live in a cave!).Hope you had a V-Day!
tworedbowls
Ha, that sounds like my kind of Valentine’s too, Liz! No frills no fuss, just some quality time 🙂 Hope you had a lovely evening yourself and thanks for stopping by!
Sugar and Cinnamon
I think these are the cutest things i’ve ever seen! Also I’ve never heard of mocchi, but i’m pretty sure I’ve eaten it…is it ever shaped like a ball and filled with sweet red bean paste? Or strawberries? I’ve been trying to work out what dessert I ate in Japan and how to make it for ages! This might be the answer to my prayers!
tworedbowls
Awww, thank you! 🙂 And YES! In fact, I just posted a recipe for the red bean version here (I’ve been on a tad of a mochi kick lately…..) They’re really pretty easy in all their incarnations, so I hope you get to give them a try! 🙂
Allison (Spontaneous Tomato)
Turkish moche-light! I love it! 🙂 I also love dreaming up things to use rosewater in…
tworedbowls
Isn’t it the best flavor? Now that I have a big bottle of rosewater I can’t stop thinking of how to use it. 🙂 Thanks, Allison!
tinywhitecottage
Oh my gosh! I had lost track of you. Looks like you made some changes to your blog and I missed so many wonderful posts. So glad you stopped in and visited me, it brought me back to you. I love your new look. (it’s probably not that new anymore) I took a look at your last several posts and I’m floored. Gorgeous. 🙂 Your mochi is so beautiful!
tworedbowls
Aw, you’re so kind! I was actually thinking the exact same thing when I came by and commented yesterday — it’s been too long! So happy to reconnect and say hello. I hope you’ve been doing wonderfully!
Grace @ Earthy Feast
I stumbled upon your blog a little while ago, through instagram. I was like, whoa, this girl is amazing. I love your style and your recipes are so deliciously original. These mochi hearts are hearts are too cute for words. I’ve never tried to make mochi and now I really want to. I’m so happy I found your blog! I hope we can work together again sometime soon!
tworedbowls
Me too, Grace!! So happy to have found you and your lovely work. And thank you so much for the kind words! I’m blushing. 🙂
Karen @ The Food Charlatan
“Turkish moch-elight babies”??? bahahaha. Also I’m so glad to know I’m not the only one who still has Christmas lights up…Yeah, we’re supa classy. These look awesome Cynthia!
tworedbowls
YES, I’m not the only one!! 😉 Thanks, Karen!
Jessica (Coco/Mingo)
Here are your wonderful rosewater mochi!! And what a perfect day for them…Valentine’s Day!! They look divine and probably taste even better…and with heart-shaped spam?! Your bf was one lucky dude! 🙂 Ahh, I miss spam. lol!! Hope you guys enjoyed the heart day and had such a wonderful weekend! Enjoy the start to the new week, my dear!! xo
Jessica (Coco/Mingo)
P.S. And awesome giveaway!!! I’m totally entering!! 🙂
tworedbowls
You are always the sweetest, Jess! <3 Hope you're having a good start to the week too (despite even more snow!)
kaprise
oooo so cute!! i love the idea of pretty shaped mochi! 🙂
tworedbowls
Thank you so much, Heidi! :):)
Krizia
I think you’re my new favorite Asian blogger. I’m not even sure if you’re Asian. But c’mon…spam and mochi? Not only that, but moch-elight as well? An Asian blogger after my own heart, I tell you.
tworedbowls
HAHAhaha I sure am!! Asian solidarity gurl. (Provided you are too, lol.) This makes my day, Krizia — especially because I LOVE love love Verily. I found you all through Haruka (with whom I am totally obsesseddd, casual) and have been reading ever since. So glad that we’ve “met”!! 🙂
Krizia
I’m totes Asian. Ironically, I found YOU through Haruka’s Instagram (we really love her :)) and I’ve been following you for a week @kliquido. It has crossed my mind to invite you to contribute to our lifestyle section. What do you think? ^_^
tworedbowls
Krizia!!! Um, I think that would be pretty much the MOST exciting thing to happen to me all week?! I’m so thrilled. Shoot me an email if you want to discuss? (And yay for IG friends! I just followed you back. 🙂 )
Dale Gray
I’m going to try making these today. Looks heavenly!
tworedbowls
Eee! I hope you love it!!
sherriewfal
You’re like the MOCHI MASTER! And your photography? Get out of here! Some of my favorite work out there right now, fo reals.
XO SHERRIE
tworedbowls
Sherrie, you don’t know how much I appreciate this! Just this week I kind of felt like I hit a photography rut, so your comment is such a sweet pick-me-up. Thanks so much :):)
Valerie
I still have my holiday lights up too….maybe a wreath. Maybe.
Super-adorbs hearts!! I’m not even a V-day fan (hello, 4 cats!), but these are too cute. I’m also relieved they’re not made out of spam. :p
tworedbowls
If we play this right, we might be able to ride this out til Christmas 2014, Valerie. I can feel it.
Haha! I think the only thing going for V-Day in my opinion is the chance for me to cut anything and everything into heart shapes with reckless abandon. Without that, I’d be out. Thanks so much for the kind words!!! 🙂
Audrey
Hi! Just curious how you store the mochi (if they are even any leftover!) and for how long it keeps? Thanks!!!!
tworedbowls
Hi! I freeze them. 🙂 They will keep for months frozen — and I’ve even thawed and refrozen them numerous times and they’ve been just as tasty each time. Just let the mochi sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes and they should be good to go. Hope you like the mochi if you try it!
Taylor
Hi I just made your recipe and it turned out amazing! Thanks you!