Hawaii Butter Mochi Recipe (Local Style) (2024)

FAQs

Where did Hawaiian butter mochi come from? ›

Butter mochi is probably a descendant of bibingka, a Filipino cake that marks celebrations and is also borne from the magic of rice flour and coconut milk (though sometimes it's casava), butter mochi is now firmly, of Hawaii. In Hawaii, butter mochi is more popular than brownies, though it's baked into similar tins.

Yes, you can freeze Hawaiian butter mochi. It's best to wrap the gluten free butter mochi in individual-sized pieces with plastic wrap. Then, place it in a freezer bag or other airtight container.

Butter mochi can last for up to three days left at room temperature. A week in the fridge, or if frozen up to a month. If you freeze the butter mochi to consume simply take them out and put them in the microwave for a minute to defrost.

Mochi is a rice cake that is soft and sweet like candy. Rice is soaked overnight and steamed before being placed in a large stone or wooden bowl (usu) and pounded with a heavy wooden mallet (kine, or kee-nay) until the consistency is soft and uniform.

Many families pride themselves on having “the best” butter mochi recipe, and while recipes vary slightly from family to family, the base ingredients are pretty standard: a box of mochiko (glutinous or sweet rice flour), butter, coconut milk, some kind of other milk (evaporated, whole, skim, etc.), eggs, baking soda, ...

Traditionally, mochi is made by pounding steamed short-grain Japanese sticky rice, called mochigome, with a wooden mallet during a ceremony called mochitsuki. This aerates and pulverizes the rice, which is what gives mochi its beloved texture.

Fresh mochi and homemade mochi can get hard/go bad quickly. It's best to consume it within 1-2 days if you leave it at room temperature. Otherwise, you can extend its life by storing mochi in the fridge.

Some mochi makers don't strain the fragments of the sesame seeds, giving the eater a grainy texture experience.

After an hour, remove your pan from the oven. Very, very carefully, remove the aluminum foil, and check the consistency of the mochi with your fingers. Steam should escape from the mochi as you remove the foil, so be careful not to burn yourself! The mochi should be sticky but firm.

The mochi is air sealed in a wrapper before being put in a box. It is dry mochi so it has a lengthy shelf life and does not require refrigeration to stay edible. Once opened eat the contents within the next couple of days. I would say don't hold on to a box longer than 2 months though, just as a precautionary measure.

Is mochi good for you? ›

When you combine rice and seaweed, mochi is low in saturated fat and very low in cholesterol. It is also a good source of Vitamins A, C, E (Alpha Tocopherol), and K, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, and Phosphorus. It's also a very good source of Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Copper, and Manganese.

Apparently, mochi balls with filling need to be used pretty quickly (within one to two days). Left at room temperature, they begin to mold. I've read that placing them in the freezer covered with plastic wrap is the best way to store them. They can't be refrigerated because they harden.

Daizu Tei serves premium fresh fruit filled mochi at several Oahu farmers markets including the KCC Farmers Market and the Kaka'ako Farmers Market. They're a little pricey at $4 / piece (and you have to buy a minimum of 4 pieces), but their mochi is made fresh, without any preservatives, and completely organic.

Mochi with fresh fruit cannot be taken on airplanes to the U.S. Mainland because of agriculture restrictions, but you'll want to eat them immediately anyway. Order by phone first or choose from one of the prepared boxes when you arrive. Cash only. Two Ladies Kitchen mochi is also sold at KTA supermarkets.

Japanese mochi is much stretchier than any mochi in Hawaii, Kojima shared. She explained this is because when making Japanese mochi they use the key ingredient of mochi rice rather than mochi flour, which is less sticky.

Brought to Hawaii by Japanese plantation workers in the 1800's, mochi has a long history dating back to the late 700's. Ancient samurai's would take mochi with them when they journeyed for battle as it was easy to prepare and traveled well.

However, based on available information, it is most likely that butter mochi is a strictly Hawaiian invention, the result of generations of culinary diffusion from Filipino, Portuguese, Japanese, and Korean cuisines.

Butter Mochi, a Hawaiian Japanese dessert, is chewy, buttery, and sweet (but not too sweet). It has a custard-like flavor, but the sticky texture of mochi. My Filipino friends say it reminds them of Cassava Cake, which has a similar flavor and consistency.

One of the earliest iterations of mochi donuts can be traced to the development of "poi mochi" by Charmaine Ocasek in Hawaii in 1992. This iteration is a fusion of American donuts and Japanese mochi and "consisted of deep-fried balls of mashed taro and mochiko, a Japanese short-grain sweet rice flour".