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Bacon-Wrapped Yaki Mochi Recipe

Posted December 19, 2013 by Stephanie
bacon wrapped yaki mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

bacon wrapped mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

I’m in the land of mochi, sushi and all things kawaii and I’m loving it! If you’ve never had mochi before, you should definitely try it. Mochi is kind of hard to describe with it’s gooey chewiness, but all you really need to know is that it’s mostly about the texture and its texture is delicious! Mochi is made from short grain sticky rice and as a result, is quite sticky, as well as neutral flavoured. This opens up a lot of possibilities when working with mochi. It’s often used in delicate Japanese sweets or wrapped around ice cream, but my favourite way to enjoy mochi is on the more savoury side of things.

bacon wrapped mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

If you eat mochi on it’s own you’ll find it quite bland, but once you grill it up and brush it with soy sauce, it turns into something that cannot be missed. Wrap it in bacon and it’s even more addictive. Something magical happens when you grill mochi. It puffs up with deliciousness, becomes golden brown and crispy on the outside and gooey and chewy on the inside. It’s one of my favourite things to order when I go out for yaki-tori and if they have it on the menu, I will usually get a couple of sticks.

bacon wrapped mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

I love going to yaki-tori because the chef grills up all the sticks right in front of you over a open flame charcoal grill. As a person who always has food envy, it’s the perfect way to see what everyone else is ordering. Even if something doesn’t sound so great on the menu, such as bonjiri, or chicken tail, when you actually see the golden brown glistening sticks grilling, you rethink your order.

bacon wrapped mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

That exact thing happened to me the first time I came across yaki-mochi. “Grilled rice cakes” didn’t sound that enticing on the menu so I didn’t order it. At least not right away. Then I saw the chef grill up skewer after skewer of something I could not identify. It had a life of its own puffing up and deflating with the heat of the grill. It turned from pure white to golden brown and crispy looking. I asked the waitress and of course it was the one thing I didn’t order, the yaki-mochi. It turned out to be delicious and I learned never to judge a dish by its name!

bacon wrapped mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

Bacon-Wrapped Yaki Mochi
each block of mochi makes 2 skewers

  • mochi blocks, as needed
  • sliced bacon, as needed (1 slice of bacon per skewer)
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons mirin

Cut each block into eight equal sized cubes. If the blocks of mochi are too difficult to cut up as is, heat them up slightly in the microwave in 20 second increments. Cut slices of bacon in half lengthwise and then crosswise so that each slice of bacon is in four.

Place the pieces of mochi on a microwave safe place (make sure the mochi isn’t touching) and microwave for 20 seconds. The mochi should be slightly softened and easy to pierce with a wooden skewer. If not, microwave for 20 seconds more.

In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, mix together the soy sauce and mirin.

Wrap each mochi cube with a piece of bacon and skewer, 4 bacon-wrapped mochi pieces to a stick. Grill over medium heat (you can do this on the barbecue, or in a grill pan indoors), flipping regularly, and brushing with the soy-mirin mixture until the bacon is crispy and the mochi is puffed up and browned, 20-30 minutes. The key to delicious mochi is patience. The longer you grill, the more puffy and crispy the mochi will become. When it looks just about right, turn up the heat to high to give it one last blast for some extra crispiness. Enjoy hot!

bacon wrapped mochi recipe - www.iamafoodblog.com

10 Comments

  1. My husband and I love dango-the sweet grilled mochi-but I’ve never had savory grilled mochi. Looks awesome!!!

  2. Sophie says:

    I have never eaten mochi in this form — I want some! Sounds so good!

  3. AL TAN says:

    The picture of the bacon and mochi is so mouth watering. I too have never eaten this kind of mochi. The last mochi I tried in Taipei was sweet.

  4. Cynthia says:

    THANK YOU !! Ive been looking everywhere for fun mochi recipes. this looks amazing xD

  5. Cynthia says:

    THANK YOU !! Ive been looking everywhere for fun mochi recipes. this looks amazing xD

  6. Shelly says:

    This looks amazing, always love your recipes. Thanks for sharing. My favorite thing to order when ordering yakitori is chicken cartilage. Doesn’t sound amazing but I love the crunchy bites of joint.

  7. dude i came upon this really randomly and now i REALLY WANT IT. REALLY really omg. this sounds incredible. i’ve never had grilled mochi before, much less wrapped in bacon — omg. and your description of it — i’m droooling. ok, end random comment!! :)

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