Mochi

[miladyinsanity]

I've gone through about a half kilo of rice flour today.

Please tell me that Joshinko is just ordinary rice flour, right? Because I've gone through several recipes for mitarashi dango now, and each time the first step involves mixing the flour and water to form a dough--I'm using english recipes, so it can't be me reading the recipe wrong. So far, I form a batter, not a dough, Every Single Time.

Any ideas what's wrong?

The various proportions I've used include:

1 cup (150g) rice flour and 3/4 cup water (this one I've seen on several places)

200g rice flour and 200cc water--this recipe had 50g sugar too

In the meantime, I shall go bang my head on the wall. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can give me.

[Hiroyuki]

Do you use boiling or hot water? Most recipes call for not just water but boiling (or hot) water.

[helenjp]

Add the water very gradually at the end - rice flour is peculiar stuff, and it takes only a tiny bit of water to go from dry crumbly mix to batter!

Also, your recipe may have been written for a much finer ground flour than you are using - coarser grinds absorb much less water. Get your water ready, and then just add it till you have the texture right, and STOP right there.

The perfect texture is traditionally described as "like your earlobe" and that really is about it.

[miladyinsanity]

I will try again.

You guys should start buying stock in rice flour mills, as I foresee kilos and kilos and kilos of rice being wasted in my mad experiments.

I shall put your advice to good use, Hiroyuki and helenjp.

I wonder if mixing by hand, as opposed to with a spoon, will help.

[GlorifiedRice]

Ive read about mochi pounding but never have I seen it.

This video is amazing!

http://shizzville.com/professional-pud-whackers