Cover Image: Mochi Magic

Mochi Magic

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Member Reviews

I very much enjoy eating mochi but had yet to dive into any recipes. Never a better time for a mochi recipe book that I'm more than eager to pick a few recipes from and give them a whirl!

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I’m no mochi master, but this book is really nice to look at and daydream about how cute the mochi WOULD be IF I were a mochi master. Really enjoyed.

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With quarantine going on, my mom and I have ventured into the baking realm and attempted as many desserts and dishes as possible. After attempting mochi a few times, I knew I had to pick up this book to try out its recipes. Mochi Magic provides so many tips and tricks to make the perfect mochi desserts. I loved seeing the different types of fillings you can use and the pictures of the desserts were beautiful! I definitely recommend if you're a fan of mochi!

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I am going to try out out all the recipes from this cute cookbook. Each page is brimming with so many enticing pictures, it's truly hard to resist now!

The thing I loved most about the book was how the author drew parallels between the traditional food and it's impact in daily life, how it brings family and friends together to create wonderful memories. It reminded me of the festivities where all our family and friends gather together to cook and enjoy together.

Each recipe has FAQs along with some lovely insights into the Japanese traditions and obviously beautiful pictures.

The easy-to-follow techniques for creating and cooking with mochi deliver the perfect mix of fun and tradition. Each colorful page brims with recipes for hand-pounded, steamed, and modern microwave mochi; fillings like rosewater, Nutella, black sesame, Oreo Cream Cheese, and Japanese plum wine; mochi-focused goodies like Bacon-Wrapped Mochi, Ozoni Soup, baked goods; and inspiration for shaping irresistibly charming mochi flowers, baby chicks, pandas, and more.

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Mochi Magic covers a wide range of tasty mochi goodies, such as sweet filled chewy daifuku mochi morsels with various doughs and fillings, pounded mochi, odango balls and even baked mochi. I liked the simplicity and ease that the author, Kaori Becker, had by offering microwaved daifuku mochi dough option. It didn't mean a lesser product, but it meant I could enjoy a mochi treat in 15-20 minutes. There was also an option for steamed white daifuku mochi recipe where the method could apply to any dough.
I made the microwaved white daifuku mochi and filled it with a fresh strawberry wrapped in store bought sweet red bean paste. It was chewy and delicious, but I found it a little too sweet for my taste with the filling combination. However, I compared the recipe with other Internet recipes and 2 to 1 ratio of mochiko rice flour to sugar is completely valid, although like any recipe you can find variances of this ratio. Then, I tried the coconut mochi and filled it with stored bought red bean paste, in the steam method but with less sugar, and rolled it in shredded coconut. I found them to be delightful, pillows bites, creamy from the coconut milk and a nice contrast to the flaky coconut. If you like coconut, you will most likely enjoy this! Next time, I would love to try filling it with the Haupia coconut pudding.
I really liked the colorful cover and the mochi photos. However, it was disappointing that although the authentic nerikiri dough was provided for the baby chicken, panda bear, baby bear, and pig, there weren't step by step instructions on how to make them, such as how to color the dough or how to adhere the dough for the ears, snout, etc. Overall, I enjoyed the book, eating the daifuku mochi, and look forward to making more mochi.
Thank you Storey Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I LOVED this book! I have been interested in Mochi since I started seeing it more and more on instagram and this book was filled with great instructions and beautiful photos of some of the cutest desserts I have ever seen! I can't wait to try some of these out!

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I have to admit, I have never really enjoyed Mochi, but looking at all the different ways to make Mochi in this book has really put a new perspective on my views of Mochi.

I love all the different characters that she made in this book of hers but I will probably end up making Pokémon characters. I have truly enjoyed looking at this book.

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Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "Mochi Magic" by Kaori Becker. This cookbook is simply amazing! I found out about mochi ice cream when I bought some at my local grocery store. It comes in a variety of flavors and is delicious! When I saw this book available to request, I jumped on it! This cookbook is very hands on and is full of great tips and pictures. I never knew there were so many different types of mochi! This book is a great starting point for beginners out there, looking to expand their love and knowledge of mochi.

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From the very start you feel you are in very good hands. I love to try baking something new and Mochi are new to me but reading the detailed, friendly instructions, I feel confident of making some successfully.

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Mochi is such a great tasting treat and I loved trying these recipes. The book made it easy and fun! Highly recommend if you also want to know how to make and decorate mochi right from home!

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How can anyone resist the cute cover of Mochi Magic? The inside doesn’t dissapoint either, this book is filled with recipes for traditional Japanese mochi, accompanied by gorgeous bright pictures of the adorable looking desert.

The book starts with the basics, the different ingredients and tools, and of course an explanation of just what mochi is. It then continues with recipes with clear explanations and photo instructions.

There is also a section about decoration mochi, to give them that famous kawaii look.

I can’t wait to impress my friends (and niece!) with these!

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Rating: 3.5 Stars

I enjoy quirky cook books, so when I saw this on Netgalley I knew I wanted to find out more, especially as the pictures on the front look so enticing.

Mochi is a sticky rice cake made from a sweet Japanese short-grained rice, but has a neutral taste so can be eaten with soya sauce or filled with sweet fillings. The majority of this book focuses on sweet fillings and a handful of savoury. In a way Mochi looks like a cross between a batter that is cooked into a dough and Turkish Delight

The book covers the basics on how to get started and what ingredients you will need and describes the five different methods that can be used which are steaming, microwaved, pounded, boiled and baked.

The book comes with plenty of recipes and steps to follow alongside the different methods used. The ingredients are in imperial measurements though there is a table at the rear of the book that includes a multiplying factor to convert from ounces to grams and cups to millilitres.

The section on decorating the Mochi includes materials and tips, two recipes for a nerikiri dough that is used like sugar paste, one method for making mochi flowers and then four photographs with no instructions on what you could make, such as a pig or panda.

This would be something fun to do as a different sweet dish at a child's birthday party or as an unusual dessert at a dinner party.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for a honest review.

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We love this book! We have always wanted to try making mocha, especially for our daughter, as a wee treat. This book tells you all about the details of making them, what types there are, recipes and how to create them in a cute way. We love it and really enjoyed trying them out, and will continue to try more!

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Mochi is a food I've always been interested in trying to taste (mostly because of anime and korean dramas) but sadly in my country it isn't popular enough (yet) for me to be able to buy my own from somebody who knows how to make it. That's one of the reasons I requested this book and I'm glad that I did. This book shows you the basics, step by step, describing what materials you need, the different ways you can cook mochi, the fillings and ingredients. I'm particularly looking forward trying my hand at making odango, I've seen that one multiple times in anime and I've always wondered how it tasted and the texture it had.

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I love eating mochi. Every time I see it at the local Asian grocery story or on the menu, I always order this to snack on later. In fact, I always have mochi from My/Mo in my freezer at all times! So when I came across this book, I was delighted to be able to recreate this delicious treat at home!

What I love about this book were the colorful graphics and text features that were visually appealing. The recipes are easy to follow with accompanying graphics describing most of the steps.

Did you know that you can also microwave mochi? It allows you to create delicious mochi in just 15 to 20 minutes from start to finish!

Thinking of hosting a fabulous party that your friends will delight in for years to come? There is even a page about what you will need to host a mochi making party!

I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a sweet (or savory) treat. It is one that won't be collecting dust on your bookshelf!

Thank you to Kaori Becker, Storey Publishing, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book.

I love this book! I have been itching to make mochi for years but I have never really found a comprehensive recipe bookuntil now. A beautiful book, very informative, easy to follow instructions, plenty of fillings to try and I loved reading about the authors experience with family and mochi. I will be buying a copy of this to add to my collection.

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I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute and fun book!

This book is a great guide to making mochi from the dough, possible fillings, and cooking techniques to cute decorations to bring them to life! I appreciate that this book was educational in differentiating types of mochi and how they're created and cooked.

I would have liked more pictures, especially when talking about the dough to get an idea of what it should look like. But otherwise the book is thorough in how you should expect to fill, cook, and shape your mochi.

There is also a conversion chart and list of useful tools which helps in making the mochi. I haven't tried any recipes from it yet but am looking forward to it.

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This darling Japanese dessert cookbook comes out in November, just in time for the holiday gifting season. I’m delighted to get a sneak peek at Mochi Magic: 50 Traditional and Modern Recipes for the Japanese Treat (via Amazon).

As a hobby, I sometimes play with molding little creatures out of almond paste (marzipan), edible dough, and chocolate. I’ve never worked with Mochi before, and I’m eager to try. Now that we’re in quarantine I have extra time at home and in the kitchen, so I’m excited to look through Mochi Magic. (This book doesn’t come out until November 24 – ooh, this might make a perfect Christmas present for the Japanophile in my life!)

The author explains that “Mochi is a form of sticky rice cake made from sweet (glutinous) Japanese short-grain rice called mochigome.” You can eat it on its own with a bit of soy sauce, or sweeten it with fillings. You can also use mochi flour to bake desserts like cakes, pastries and brownies. I had no idea! I really appreciated and enjoyed the next section on the history of mochi and how it is used in Japanese festivals. The author shares a bit about her life cooking and using mochi with her mother – very sweet!

Bet you’re curious about the Baked Mochi chapter! You can learn how to make baked buns with sweet bean filling (again, I love the step-by-step photos!), mochi muffins, mochi pancakes, and glazed mochi donuts. There’s also a recipe for crispy chewy mochi waffles. I had no idea all these things were possible with mochi – this is so cool! You even learn to make matcha syrup, if that sounds like something tasty you’d want to do (I’ve found matcha a difficult flavor to learn to enjoy, but I finally do like it!) One of the first things you might want to make from this cookbook might be the Chocolate Mochi Brownies, am I right?

This book is darling and presents so much more information than I’d expected. It’s not too expensive, so I might be tempted to gift it to more than a couple foodie-leaning nieces and nephews this holiday season.

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Review to come November 10th on blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review!

I love Japan, I love cooking, and I love mochi (tried it out once). So this book had to be clicked and requested on Netgalley. I wanted to see how this writer makes mochi (I know a couple of ways but maybe the author had a new one), and I wanted to see cute mochi and how to make them.

I have to say I haven't tried any of the recipes. While the author says that it is easy to get the ingredients, I have never seen mochiko here in a normal grocery store (I had a time I wanted to make bentos but finding the right rice in a normal grocery store.. eh). Currently we are still in lockdown so I am not going to an Asian Market as that is just too far away, and I am just not a fan of online food buying. But as soon as everything is normal again (probably next year or in a couple of months as by the time this review is up it is November, but it is May now as I write it) I do plan on trying out some recipes when I can visit an Asian Market and get mochi rice, mochi flour, and ingredients to fill it with as I have not seen those at normal grocery stores either. And some I guess I cannot do as I don't have a microwave any more. I had one in my old house (combined with an oven), but we barely used it for microwave functions, instead only used the oven function.

I loved reading about the author's family and how they do the mochi making.

The recipes are all quite clearly explained in easy steps, there are photographs, extra tips and notes, and all in all, I think anyone can do it if they want (and if they can find the ingredients). There are also Q&A at the start of each chapter which feature the most basic questions anyone may have about the topic that we are getting to in the chapter. I love how each recipe starts with an explanation, sometimes even with personal anecdotes. There are tons of recipes with all sorts of yummy mochi types, and I can honestly say I am hungry now. So so hungry.

I did like the chapter on how to decorate mochi! Though I had expected just a bit more, some more tips and tricks. Some more shapes and stuff to try out.

I also like that they added dango/odango to the mix!

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this fun mochi book. I am now very very hungry and have had a few times that I wanted to reach out to the book and just grab the mochi. :P I would recommend this book to all.

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[The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.]

This is the cutest cookbook I ever read! I've wanted to learn how to make mochi for forever, and now I finally can! Unfortunately I haven't gotten around to actually trying one of the recipes yet, because some of the recipes are hard to get where I live. But I'm looking forward to finally making some mochi!

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