Japanese desserts are known for being uniquely Japanese, in the way that a lot of subtle, sweet flavors are packed into very small servings of carefully prepared and presented food. Japanese dessert are known for their quality, rather than their serving sizes.
There are many traditional and modern Japanese desserts around, like the old Japanese rice cakes, and the newer green tea ice cream that they adopted from the West. One of the more popular traditional Japanese desserts is the mochi, which is made from carefully prepared rice.
Mochi usually looks like a round cake or a small bun, and is usually given to other people during the New Year. Because of its popularity, however, mochi has become available to the market in Japan and in some other countries throughout the whole year.
To make mochi, short grained sticky rice is soaked in water overnight. Afterwards, it is cooked and then pounded into a very sticky paste. This paste makes up the basic mochi, and is molded into various shapes or filled up with various fillings, like sweet red bean paste or lotus root cream. Special mochi, or the kind that is given away during the New Year, are usually decorated with flower or fruit designs.
When the mochi is fresh, it can be served warm on the dining table together with different sauces. The popular way of warming mochi is through boiling, steaming, or simmering, though there are also people who grill their mochi. When mochi is used for soup, it can be left as it is, or steamed and fried like dumpling.
Mochi can also be added to normal dishes and other desserts. There are types of frozen mochi that has ice cream in it, and has become popular among the young and children in Japan. They are not limited to sweet fillings, however – there are some people who stuff their mochi with vegetables, too!
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