Chocolate Mochi

[Vegasbuff]

Picked up a few pieces from Fugetsudo yesterday. They are about the size of a silver dollar pancake. The mochi is pillowy soft and has a nice chew to it. It has a subtle yet distinctive chocolate flavor. The surprise is when you get to the middle of the mochi where there is a liquid chocolate center. It reminds me of the dobash at King's Hawaiian Bakery.

Don't know how long the chocolate mochi has been around, but the next time I'm in J town, I'll be sure to pick some more up.

[krojas83]

They sell Mochi at your local Trader Joe's! Mango, Chocolate, Strawberry and Green Tea....yum

[Vegasbuff]

No, this isn't mochi ice cream. The mochi ice cream they sell at Trader Joe's is Mikawaya's brand.

This is the regular, room temperature mochi and is made by Fugetsudo.

[PseudoNerd]

Mikawaya also makes and sells them, but, as far as I've seen, they only do at the actual store(s); it makes available only the kind with ice cream at other retailers'.

[TracyS]

Just saw mention of this place recently in an issue of LA Magazine and I'd love to check it out soon. What else is good to try there? And - big one for me - are there any Japanese treats making use of black sesame?

[Burger Boy]

Did you see this thread from yesterday about black sesame chips?

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/394343

[Vegasbuff]

I actually got the mochi at the Cherry Blossom Festival, not their store so I'm not exactly sure what they have in regards to black sesame.

[cakes]

I thought the Cherry Blossom Festival was last month?

[Vegasbuff]

This was the Cherry Blossom Festival in Monterey Park.

Here are some pics of what the mochi looks like in case anybody is interested.

[cakes]

Ohhh!

Thanks for sharing! ... Now where can I find some? ;D

[mlgb]

I always get the usual "pink, green and white" mochis. I like the green best (the one with the tan dust on it). Don't ask me what they're called officiallly!

[typetive]

I'm with you mlgb - I can't remember what they're called.

I actually took some photos when I was in there so I could match it back up (roll over the mochi in the photo for the name)

http://flickr.com/photos/typetive/141698333/in/set-72057594127497858/

Here's the whole photo set.

http://flickr.com/photos/typetive/set...

I haven't tried the chocolate (last time I was there was in Feb when I had jury duty). I hear the peanut butter is really good too, but they don't sell it individually, only in the pre-wrapped pack.

[PseudoNerd]

The "tan dust" is roasted soy powder

[gomagoma]

The "tan dust" is called "kinako" and it is soybean flour. Kinako is mostly used in Japanese sweets, but can also be used in a variety of different ways. My version of a soyshake is mixing kinako with soymilk with just a bit of honey. Kinako is sold at most Japanese markets, like Mitsuwa and Nijiya.

As for the "pink, white and green" - there are a few different types of pink, white and green. Pink can either be food coloring, or if you got them at the cherry blossom festival, they should be the "sakura" (cherry blossom) mochi. In Japan, the sakura mochi is a seasonal flavor/version, so some mochi/manjyu stores will only carry them during the months of March and April. Green can also be either food coloring or yomogi (mugwort), or depending on the store, they might have a variation with some type of tea flavoring/blend mixed into the mochi.

[mlgb]

Oh thanks for the info. The "pink" is their regular year-round pink, with a white bean filling. They do two different greens, one with the "kinako" and one that has darker green flecks in the green mochi skin.