Moffles

Mochi has always been one of those textural phenomena that you either love or hate. I love it. Or as some might say, I don’t have a problem with the texture. Chewy and dense, it’s a lot like the tapioca balls at the bottom of a bubble tea, or the hard skin you sometimes get on jello.

I’ve always been a fan of chewy like this, so when I saw a mochi waffles post on Serious Eats, I knew I had to try. I mean, earlier this summer I’d made the ultimate chewy Chinese fry-dessert (jian duy), so cutting a few squares of mochi and throwing them into the waffle iron seemed pretty brainless in comparison.

Granted, I’d never bought mochi before – but it’s Seattle. If I can find 10 varieties of tempeh, I should be able to track down mochi. I was in luck, and I didn’t even have to go to Whole Foods or our local (hippie) co-op. At a regular locally owned store, I found it right next to the tofu and salad dressing in the refrigerated section. It even came in two flavors – cinnamon raisin or a savory combo that I don’t recall (it was out of stock).I bought a package of the cinnamon raisin and headed home.

Making muffles is really easy.

Open the package, cut a couple of squares off the block, and place them on the waffle iron. Press the lid of the iron down. It will take a few seconds for it to soften enough to lock closed. Cook until it reaches a texture you want to eat. I cooked it for almost two waffle cycles: red light, green light, red light, take it out before it goes green again. Mine were crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside.

There are a few important notes to keep in mind:

• Mochi is made from ground brown rice, which means it’s very high in sugar and super high in carbs. Four to five 1-inch squares of mochi are around 200 calories, and they make less than 1/4 of the waffle iron. It pops your energy level because it’s all carbs, so don’t just think you’re going to make a full waffle at a time and feel OK. 1/4 of a waffle made of mochi is heavy.
• The cinnamon raisin mochi didn’t have much flavor, so the second time I put these through, I sliced them in half laterally and put about 1/4 tsp apple butter on, then the top again. It leaked all over the waffle iron but did make the waffle taste a little less like cinnamon cardboard.
• I heard Alton Brown says a waffle iron is the best way to cook bacon. Perhaps mochi + waffle + bacon is the next experiment!

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