Hi,
I was introduced to
mochi sometime in 1980 when
Grainnaissance started producing it in the East Bay of San Francisco.
I have made it a few times using organic sweet
brown (
glutinous)
rice.
The following is an excerpt from
The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Resource for Healthy Eating by
Rebecca Wood :
"RICE (Oryza sativa)
Grain upon grain
Fresh and delightful as frost
A dazzling jewel
To what can I compare this treasure.
-Yang Ji (Ming Dynasty
Rice is the staple food for more than half the world's population. What an incomprehensible number of people are probably sitting down right now to a bowl of rice. The word meal is synonymous with rice in both - the Chinese and Japanese languages, just as in English the word meal originally referred to our staple food-ground grain. As grain no longer enjoys this prominence in United States, it is sometimes difficult to appreciate the importance of rice to cultures where it is the staple.
Americans eat about 25 pounds of rice person per year, compared to more than I pounds per person per year in the Far East. The United States grows about I percent the world's rice and exports about 60 percent of this crop. Less than 2 percent of the U.S. production is brown or whole grain rice.
Health Benefits Rice generates energy and promotes good digestion. it quenches thirst, . relieves mental depression, and stops diarrhea that's been caused by spleen-pancreas defeciency. White rice digests more quickly than brown; however, because it is refined it is not a strengthening food. Basmati rice is
tridoshic.
Brown rice reduces vata and may slightly aggravate kapha and pitta.
Brown rice is the highest of all grains in B vitamins, but somewhat lower than others in protein. It contains iron, vitamin E, amino acids, and linoleic acid. Shortgrain brown rice contains less protein but more minerals; it is heartier and more strengthening than the long-grain.
Sweet, or glutinous, rice is more warming, higher in protein, and more easily digested than regular rice. It strength the kidneys, spleen-pancreas, and stomach.... "
(to read the rest of this article and the rest of the book please visit the macrobiotic or vegetarian and vegan
book section of Simply Natural or your local public library.
The following excerpt comes from
Macrobiotic Diet: Balancing Your Eating in Harmony with the Changing Environment and Personal Needs: by Michio and Aveline Kushi with Alex Jack :
"14. Pounded Rice. Cooked or steamed rice that is pounded, crushed, and
prepared into small bite-size squares is called
mochi. In addition to regular brown rice. sweet brown rice is traditionally used for this preparation because of its light, sweet taste and glutinous texture. Sweet brown rice mochi is often called "pounded rice cake." After drying, the pounded rice cakes can be preserved for long periods, prepared by baking, steaming, or boiling in soup, or soaked in hot tea.
In the Far East, mochi is traditional served on New Year's and other special occasions. During pounding, steamed beans, mugwort, and other ingredients may be added to make many unique varieties. Mochi may be enjoyed plain or served with a variety of toppings, ranging from sea salt and tamari soy sauce to brown rice syrup. Today, modern mochl is often made with white rice, white flour, sugar, and other highly refined ingredients. On the macrobiotic diet, these are carefully avoided.
Snacks may also be made from dried mochi. These are produced by drying thin flattened slabs of pounded rice in the shade and either puffing them up or lightly roasting. Depending on the size, they are called sembei (for flatter and larger sizes) or okaki (for fatter and smaller sizes). Seasoned and flavored with a touch of sea salt, tamari soy sauce, roasted sesame seeds, and/or sea vegetable as nori, these make chewy and healthful snacks.
15. Pounded Sweet Rice Balls. Lightly pounded sweet rice balls known as
ohagi may also be prepared for parties and special occasions. Simpler to make than mochi, they may be coated with various ingredients including ground sesame seeds, ground roasted walnuts, azuki beans with a little rice syrup, pur'eed chestnuts kinako soy flour, and squash pur'ee."
Sweet brown rice can also be used to make
amasake.
I'm sorry that I have so little to share. Maybe I will have more, next time!
Thank you, very much.
Bruce Paine