Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Cookbook is filled
with the sticky
charm of mochi
Hawaii's Best Mochi Recipes, by Jean Watanabe Hee, Mutual Publishing, 2000, $9.95
Armed with her mother's recipes, Jean Watanabe Hee began a quest to memorialize mochi. The result is a comprehensive tribute to this favorite treat.Hee retired last year, after 34 years as an elementary-school teacher, and found herself visiting her mother, Asae Watanabe, more frequently in Hilo.
"Every time I would go she would say, try this recipe or try that," Hee said.
She began to see a wealth of potential in the many varieties of mochi out there. It would be handy, she thought, to have them all in a single collection. "People would say they wanted a certain recipe, but they forgot which cookbook it was in. They just wanted a quick referral."
But before she could get her book to print, the 1999 book, "Unbearably Good! Mochi Lovers Cookbook," came out. This proved a blessing, however. That book's success helped Hee find a publisher.
The result is a slim but slick $9.95 paperback with 121 mochi recipes, including several microwave versions. They run from the traditional Chi Chi Dango to mochis made with apricot, fresh strawberries, poi and pumpkin. The cookbook also contains main dishes such Mochiko Chicken and Mochi Duck.
Of all the recipes in the cookbook, Hee is especially fond of the Blueberry Mochi, one of her mother's favorites.
Blueberry Mochi
2 cups sugarStir sugar into butter. Add milk and mix well. Add eggs. Stir in baking powder, mochiko and vanilla. Pour into an ungreased 9-by-13-inch pan. Fold in the pie filling to create a marbleized look. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes about 36 pieces.
1 cup butter, melted
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
4 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pound mochiko
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 can blueberry pie fillingNutritional information unavailable.
Click for online
calendars and events.
