Chocolate Chips Mochi

I've made mochi before, but I find that the consistency of the cooked mochi this time round is better.. But reheating the mochi (to melt the chocolate chips) for more than 30 seconds will totally DESTROY it!!!! ARGHH... Regretted reheating it...



Chocolate Chips Mochi

Ingredients for mochi

Mochiko (glutinous rice flour) 1 Cup
Sugar less than 1/2 Cup (If your chocolate chips are very sweet, go easy on the sugar.. Unless you like very sweet stuff..)
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 or 2 dessertspoons to tint the mochi
Water 1 Cup

Chocolate Chips Enough to be wrapped with your mochi skins...
Katakuriko (potato starch) Enough for dusting

Directions for making mochi

1. Mix the mochiko, sugar and unsweetened cocoa powder together.
2. Pour water to the mixture at one go as u continue mixing/stirring. Stir until the mixture is dissolved. (There might be lumps of the chocolate powder, but it's ok. This will be taken care of when u cook the mochi)
3. Wrap your bowl of dissolved mixture with saran wrap (and poke a hole on it to release steam) or cover with microwavable pyrex glass cover (do not cover completely. Leave a small gap to release steam).

IMPORTANT STEPS:
A) Set your microwave to HIGH and cook your mochi for 2 minutes. Take it out, and stir into a consistent paste.
B) Set your microwave to MEDIUM HIGH and cook your mochi for another 2 minutes. Take it out, and stir well.
C) Set your microwave to MEDIUM HIGH and cook your mochi for the last 2 minutes. Take it out, and stir very well until your mixture is a glossy, smooth paste.
D) Your mochi is done.

4. Let your mochi cool for about 5 minutes. During this time, get any large tray/pan ready and line it with aluminium foil/baking sheet (this is to make your life easier as none of the very sticky mochi will stick to your tray/pan). Dust the lining with katakuriko generously.

5. Transfer the still pretty hot mochi dough to the lined tray/pan (using a spoon or something... not your hands...). Let it cool for another 5 minutes.

6. You should be able to handle your mochi at this stage without scalding your hands. (It's still pretty warm though! Be careful!) Dust your hands with katakuriko generously. Roll the mochi into a rod shape. Divide the dough into around 15 to 20 equal parts (if you prefer smaller chocolate chips mochi, you can divide into more parts and vice versa). Take each portion, roll into a ball, and press flat. Try to make the thickness of the center thicker than the thickness of the edges. Place any amount of chocolate chips u like in the center of the flat piece, and wrap them up by pulling and pressing the edges, over the chocolate chips filling, to the center. There you have it, a chocolate chips mochi!

7. You could melt the chocolate chips in the mochi by reheating the chocolate chips mochi in the microwave on LOW for NOT more than 30 seconds. The mochi might seem flattened though... coz the insides have melted... If you prefer to have a nicely-shapped chocolate chips mochi, then I suggest Not reheating it.

Notes: The making of the mochi (the skin) is easy... It's the wrapping that's hard as the cooked mochi dough is very sticky and soft. You could tear portions of the mochi dough as u go with the wrapping. But the mochi balls might end up with different sizes. I checked my chocolate chips mochi this morning again. The mochi is slightly firmer and can retain its shape better now. Do not refrigerate your mochi!! Unless u wan hard mochi... =X

Oh, if you want to know how to wrap each individual mochi my way, follow the instructions below:


Typo: Fold along the blue lines with the mochi inside, to form a container like below...