bánh dầy | brown rice mochichi recipe

Mochichi mochichi.  Four ways to eat mochi.

After my previous recipe test, I've been tweaking the macrobiotic brown rice mochi recipe by Jill Ettinger (Organic Authority) and I've compared to a couple of Việt bánh dầy recipes.

My mochi recipe has a lot of variations from savory to sweet applications: steamed, baked, boiled in ginger syrup with mung bean filling (Chè trôi nước), or fried with mung bean filling (bánh cam|orange mochi).  

Steamed and/or baked can be eaten with chả lụa|silky pork sausage. We make do with deli meat for now until I get this year's pork share and give chả lụa making a go. 
Steamed is gooey goodness.  Baked is crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside.

Chè trôi nước is part of the traditional offering to ancestors & deities on birthdays, death anniversaries, and lunar sacred days (Tết Nguyên Đán|Lunar New Year, Tết Trung Thu|Mid-Autumn Moon Festival); Mẹ rể|my mother-in-law introduced me to this.  

Bánh cam is one of my favorite treats.  Bà ngoại|my maternal grandmother used to make these for the grandchildren.

Bánh Dầy|brown rice mochichi recipe

Makes 12

Mochi Dough:

sprouted brown rice

• 2 c. organic sweet brown rice
• filtered water to soak
• 1 tsp celtic/grey sea salt
• 1/2 c. water

For steamed mochi: 

• parchment paper or banana leaves cut into 3.5 inch squares 
• pasture-raised lard or coconut oil 

For baked mochi: 

• parchment paper to cover a baking sheet
• tapioca starch or ground dry brown rice

For Chè trôi nước:

• water
• grated or thinly sliced ginger
• organic coconut palm sugar or fruit syrup*
• 1 cup sprouted organic mung beans
• optional shallots if you like it savory

For Bánh cam:

• organic coconut palm sugar or dried apricots
• 1 cup sprouted organic mung beans
• optional shallots if you like it savory
• organic unhulled raw sesame seeds
• coconut oil for frying

Equipment: 1 quart mason jar, sprout lid (optional), food processor, 2 oz cookie scoop, scraper and pyrex containers, pressure cooker or pot with a steam rack, baking sheet, deep fryer.

SPROUTING:

[1/13/2015 I no longer sprout sweet rice because I find the flavor is more pungent/cloying. I soak overnight with bincho-tan.] Sprout the rice grains (to a notch is fine) and, if you are trying the latter two recipes, sprout the mung beans too in order to reduce anti-nutrients (phytic acid and arsenic).  This can take 1.5-2 days.  Since my daughter is starting extended hours at school on Monday and I need to get lunch together, I started on Friday.  The method I used is to soak the rice and mung beans separately overnight in mason jar with filtered water and a chunk of bincho-tan. Cover jar with a sprout lid (can use a towel).  The next day when I noticed the grains had expanded and almost filled the quart jar, I drained it and let it sit damp for several hours or until the next day until I see a sprout on the germ of the grains.  I probably could have done this Saturday evening, but I did it in the morning instead.  Grains should be rinsed at least once daily with filtered water.  Can take 2-3 days to sprout.  Discard the water.  I personally don't use the rice water for compost/gardening because of the arsenic runoff.  The mung bean water can be grey water recycled.

MOCHI DOUGH:

Pour the grains into the food processor along with 1 tsp of grey sea salt.  Turn it on and slowly add the water until the dough forms.   Remove blades and let the dough sit for 1 hour for the moisture to absorb; this will help ensure the right texture.  When I don't let the dough rest, the texture is grainier like smashed up sticky rice.

steampunk mochi dough

STEAMPUNK MOCHI

Put enough water for steaming into the pressure cooker or steam pot and bring the water up to a boil.  

While that is going on, lightly grease a cookie scoop with lard or coconut oil.  Scoop out a ball of dough and put on a square of parchment paper.  Re-grease the cookie scoop between scoops. Rice cake balls can be nestled next to each other as long as there is parchment paper between them.

Steam in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes or 30 minutes in a steamer pot.

mochi beignet

STEAMED & BAKED MOCHI

Turn your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  Put a parchment paper on a baking sheet and dust tapioca starch or rice powder.

Coat your hands with tapioca starch or rice powder and make 1-1.5 inch balls.  Flatten them into thick patties approximately 2 inches across. 

Steam in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes or 30 minutes in a steamer pot.

Remove then place on baking sheet with space between for expansion.  Bake for 10 minutes.

CHÈ TRÔI NỨOC

Filling: While the batter is hydrating, cook the mung beans in water with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Drain.  Smash the beans and add sugar to taste.  Roll them into 1 to 1.5 inch balls.

Mochi in the Middle
Offering for Lễ Thôi Nôi | 1 Lunar Month Baby celebration

Ginger syrup: In a pot add 4-6 cups of water, ginger slivers, and coconut palm sugar.  Bring to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Mochi: Wet your hands.  Roll 2 to 3 inch balls and flatten them to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  You may need to add more water to the dough to make it more elastic.  Put a ball of mung beans in the center and seal the dough around it.  It doesn't have to be a tight fit.  Set aside on a plate or baking sheet.  When you run out of filling, roll the remaining dough into little balls of a half inch or less.  They'll be like little gooey pearls.

When you have made all the balls, add them to the ginger syrup and bring to a low boil for 5 minutes.  Serve hot.

BÁNH CAM

Filling: While the batter is hydrating, cook the mung beans in water with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes. Drain.  Smash the beans and add sugar to taste.

Mochi: Wet your hands.  Roll 2 to 3 inch balls and flatten them to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.  You may need to add more water to the dough to make it more elastic.  Put a ball of mung beans in the center and seal the dough around it.  It doesn't have to be a tight fit.  Roll in the sesame seeds.  

Fill a deep fryer or a pot with coconut oil and turn on medium high.  drop in some of the mochi pearls to test temperature.  Fry the mochi in batches until deep golden (whence the name orange cake).  Scoop out and cool on a napkin-lined plate.  Eat when cooled to a bearable temperature.

* * * * * * *
So many ways to eat mochi...

munching on mochi

Mochichichi Mochichi.

Oh so Soft and Cuddly!
Happy, happy Mochichi.
I love you, Mochichi!

Ăn Ngon Lành|Eat Delectably!

*I've recently watched Dr. Robert Lustig's TEDx talk where he lists the 56 names of sugar.  While coconut palm sugar was not one of the named and has a lower glycemic index, it still is a refined sugar though a better choice than cane sugar.  For a no refined sugar approach, I suggest a fruit syrup.