Japanify: Crispy Butter-Shoyu Mochi Wrap

As a kid, when New Year's rolled around, I dreaded eating ozoni, a dashi soup that includes a big ball of boiled mochi (rice cake), some fish cake and mitsuba. For the same reason that I don't like Matzo Ball soup, I am not a big fan of ozoni because I don't like balls of white doughy mass. But it was rude not to eat this dish that symbolizes good luck in the New Year, so I'd slog through it as long as it was served to me.

Now that I am adult and I can do whatever I want, I prefer to commemorate the New Year by using another technique for eating savory mochi. The Crispy Butter-Shoyu Mochi Wrap. My mouth waters just by typing these six words.

It's a simple recipe that requires a toaster oven and four ingredients. I didn't have any mochi at the beginning of 2016, a year that didn't bring much luck for many. My hope is that by gorging on these Crispy Butter-Shoyu Mochi Wraps this last week of 2016, we'll have a better year in 2017.

Crispy Butter-Shoyu Mochi Wrap

1 serving

INGREDIENTS

1 mochi brick
1/4" pat of butter
1 tsp soy sauce
8" x 4" sheet of nori

This is what the bag of mochi looks like in the store.





METHOD

1. Place the mochi brick on a piece of aluminum foil.



2. Place the foil with the mochi brick in a toaster oven on the broiler setting for 4-5 minutes. I suggest setting the timer for 4 minutes then checking back to see if you need that extra minute.



3. Take out of the toaster oven when there's a nice toasty brown color on the brick's surface.



You can see the bottom exploded a little exposing a gooey inside.



4. Scrape the mochi off the foil and put on the nori.

5. Add the butter and soy sauce on top of the mochi and wrap the nori around it.



Roll it up!



The first bite... Notice the crispy exterior and gooey interior.



Hear, hear 2017!