571068 Mon Nov 10 12:50:50 -0800 2008 8 31 Home Cooking 0 4162421 I am wondering if anyone has any advice for making Mochi. I have a panasonic mochi machine and am trying to learn to make mochi. I am a chef and definitely know my way around a kitchen, but can't seem to figure this one out. I make it according to the directions for the machine...... I wash and soak the rice for at least 8 hours. For making 1.5 lbs of rice I add 12 oz of water to the machine for steaming. I let it steam and then it automatically starts pounding. Once the pounding is finished I am left with a big ball of rice. It is not pounded at all. I have tried soaking longer and that did nothing. I have even tried helping the machine by pushing the rice down into the impeller during the pounding process....this did nothing. any help would be great. I am on the verge of going back to making the quick and dirty version from cooking rice flour. Mon Nov 10 12:50:50 -0800 2008 238860 Cloud Break 1 4162710 I wonder if you have a defective machine. We use several machines at our annual mochitsuki and we have never encountered the problem that you described. You might want to check with the manufacturer. Mon Nov 10 14:17:29 -0800 2008 4162421 12307 dimsumgirl 2 4163369 I thought of that, but it works to make bread and pasta. I would think that if it were broken to the point of not making Mochi it would not make bread or pasta either. Do you think it could be something in my technique? I have never made Mochi this way before and I thought I might be missing a step or forgetting something. Mon Nov 10 18:41:29 -0800 2008 4162710 238860 Cloud Break 3 4163552 Is the rice soft or hard after the steaming? If the rice is still hard, the machine may not be steaming it long enough. Mon Nov 10 20:19:38 -0800 2008 4163369 93805 hannaone 4 4164603 by soft, do you mean over cooked? The rice is cooked how you would normally expect rice to be cooked. Is this the same for mochi? Tue Nov 11 09:28:36 -0800 2008 4163552 238860 Cloud Break 5 4165337 It should be soft enough that it can be mashed into a stiff dough like consistency. So you want it to be beyond "al dente". You can look at this Korean rice cake recipe for a "by hand" method: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/451127#3041710 Tue Nov 11 13:47:04 -0800 2008 4164603 93805 hannaone 6 4166387 I will give it a try and let you know how it works out. Thanks for your help. Tue Nov 11 20:57:54 -0800 2008 4165337 238860 Cloud Break 1 4166433 Stick it in the microwave for a bit. Tue Nov 11 21:33:54 -0800 2008 4162421 11583 ipsedixit 1 4178685 This may be a silly question, but are you using sweet rice? Also called pearl rice, sticky rice, glutinous rice? Sun Nov 16 18:11:00 -0800 2008 4162421 240502 More0ver