fitfool

This is another sweet snack item my mom would make for us. I'm not sure how to describe the texture. It's chewy like a gummy bear but a slightly more substantial chewiness. My favorite version was to have it filled with red bean paste in the middle. My sisters liked theirs plain. Dad liked his with a dry mixture of finely chopped peanuts and granulated sugar. The real way of making this is a huge pain but mom used the microwave to make it in under an hour. (or for my sisters, their snack was ready in 15 minutes since they didn't need to fill theirs).

Prompted by this thread about Dango I tried making that as well. I've never had it so I don't know if it came out right but it tasted cool. The soy sauce glaze is sweet and salty. Neat kick.

Mochi

NOTE: Mochi made using a microwave doesn't freeze well. Texture gets messed up.

1 cup sweet rice flour (or glutinous rice flour) (make sure it says glutinous or sweet. just plain rice flour is NOT the same)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup warm water
some corn starch
red bean paste for filling (optional)

Spray a little cooking spray in the inside of a microwave-safe glass container.
Mix the flour and sugar in the glass container.
Mix in the water and stir until all the powder is incorporated.
Cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Coat another glass container with a little cooking spray and dump the cooked mochi into that container. Let cool for 5-10 minutes. It'll be HOT. Try not to burn your fingers. Once it has cooled down, you can start nibbling at it if you like it plain (this is how my sisters eat it). Note, the hotter it is, the easier it is to work with. If you're trying to get the nice smooth circles, then you'll want to sprinkle a little corn starch on your fingers and work quickly, again trying not to burn your fingers.
If you'd like plain mochi but want to make it look a little nicer, use a big spoon to scoop up a bit and then shape it into a little round patty. Lightly dust with corn starch to make it less sticky. Set it out on a plate and it's ready to eat.
If you want to fill it, spread the mochi a little thinner, scoop a little of the red bean paste into the middle and then bring up the edges to enclose the bean paste and pinch it shut. Dust with a little corn starch and then you can serve it up. Can be eaten warm or at room temperature but the texture leaves something to be desired if you try to put it in the fridge.

These 3 pictures are from my mom, the master at getting the mochi wrestled into neat patties.
If you want dango, make little balls of the mochi and put them on a skewer. Slightly grill the skewered dumplings and brush the sauce below onto them (I skipped the grilling step since my mochi was still warm.)

Sweet Soy Sauce Glaze for Dango
(From http://www.recipezaar.com/120390)
3/4 to 1 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 tablespoons water

Mix first 3 ingredients in a pan and put on medium heat. (water, soy sauce, sugar)
Mix corn starch and smaller amount of water in a cup and set aside.
When the mixture in the pan boils, add the starch mixture and mix that in quickly. [I had trouble getting it to not clump. So I had to spend some extra time stirring away the clumps.)

If presentation wasn't an issue, I just scooped up some mochi and dipped it in the sweetened soy sauce mixture. Since I had already formed plain mochi circles, I decided to just glaze the tops of them with the soy sauce mixture: