Mugwort Mochi with Sweet and Savory Fillings
*Makes about 20 mochi, half sweet and half savory
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE MUGWORT JUICE: one bunch fresh young mugwort, baking soda, water. If you don’t have access to young mugwort plants, you can find dried mugwort at Chinese herb stores, though your mochi will not be as vivid green. I don’t condone it, but you could skip the mugwort or substitute with matcha powder.
FOR THE MOCHI SKIN: 90g wheat starch, 150g boiling water, 300g sticky rice flour, 45g sugar, 15g canola oil, coconut oil or lard, 270g mugwort juice
FOR THE SWEET FILLING: 1/3 cup black sesame seeds, 1/4 cup peanuts, 1/4 cup pine nuts, brown sugar to taste, canola oil or coconut oil to bind
FOR THE SAVORY FILLING: 4 salted duck yolks, steamed and mashed up, equal amount of pork floss, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, sesame oil
EQUIPMENT
Bamboo steamer, food processor, food scale
Make the Mugwort Juice:
Add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda to boiling water, then drop in young mugwort leaves and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and sieve the leaves into a bowl of cold water. When cool, add leaves to food processor or blender and add just enough water to cover. Blend until leaves are completely pulverized. For smooth green mochi, strain out the pulp. For a speckled look, leave them in.
Make the Fillings:
Sweet: toast black sesame seeds, pine nuts, and peanuts separately. Pulse them in food processor with brown sugar, gradually adding oil. Stop adding oil when you can form balls with the mixture. Shape into balls about 30g each (or the size of the center of your palm) and put them on a plate or sheet tray. Stick in the freezer.
Savory: whisk mayo, sesame oil, and rice vinegar together until you have a loose dressing (taste and adjust continuously to balance). Stir dressing, mashed yolks, and pork floss together to combine. Shape into balls and freeze.
Make the Mochi:
Pour hot water into wheat starch and stir with a fork to combine evenly - you should get a very sticky translucent paste. In a separate bowl, combine sticky rice flour, sugar, oil/lard, and mugwort juice until a loose dough forms. Add the wheat starch paste and knead until fully combined. The dough should feel like fresh Play-Doh: soft, inelastic, and light. Like Play-Doh, it’s also very prone to drying out and getting crumbly. Cover immediately with plastic wrap and a wet towel.
Pinch off a piece of dough (about 40g if weighing) and shape it into a deep cup. Drop a filling ball into the cup and smooth the dough over the filling to seal it off. rub the ball between your palms to smooth it out. Repeat until you’ve used up all your dough and fillings - try to work fast and also keep your shaped mochi balls under a wet towel. You may also need to slightly wet your hand after every 2-3 mochi to give the dough more moisture. If you want to easily identify the fillings, press sesame seeds or peanut kernel onto the tops of the sweet ones. Cover shaped mochi with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Cook the Mochi:
While bringing water to boil in a wok, lay pieces of parchment paper over the bottom of a bamboo steamer and rest the mochi on the parchment, making sure they each have plenty of space. Set steamer in wok when water is boiling and steam for 8-10 minutes. The mochi will look pale milky green when initially cooked but will get darker and look more translucent as they cool. Brush with canola oil to keep them from sticking to each other. Serve warm.
