- All right. (claps)
It's the moment I've been waiting for all week,
because I have been wanting to test the mochi maker.
For the longest time ever,
I've been obsessively watching all the YouTube clips
on the guy pounding the mochi.
(men shouting)
That inspired me to make mochi at home.
Very simply, mochi is a chewy Japanese rice cake
that is usually made with sweet glutinous rice.
So, what is the best way to make mochi at home?
Can use a machine, which I have here,
or you could do it by hand.
So this one is the Tiger Mochi Maker for about two to $300,
and then we got the Zojirushi for about three to $400.
We're gonna start the machines first
because it's gonna cook the rice, then pound it.
So you're gonna take the bowl out,
add the water first,
and the steam from the water is what's gonna cook the rice.
Okay, water in, basket in, in goes the rice.
And this is already pre-soaked rice.
Very simple.
Same with this.
Rice is in.
Level it out.
Lid on.
Okay, so this is what we figured out
with these two machines.
So for the Tiger, it's pretty simple.
You click on steam to cook the rice,
and then you'll press pound
and it'll start pounding the rice.
For the Zojirushi,
there's an auto button right in the middle
and this will steam and then pound it for you,
like straight through.
Also, if you wanted to do it separately,
there's a two separate pound and steam button.
So we're gonna move these to one side,
and then start making mochi by hand.
So one of the hardest things about making mochi
is the process of kneading and beating the rice
to make it super elastic, super glutinous,
you want it to be stretchy, the stretchier the better.
Because this requires a lot of work,
I am going to invite my friend Ian to come help me.
Come on, Ian!
Join me in the pounding party, pounding party.
And we're just gonna put it on the counter,
and then we're just gonna start beating it.
This is kinda fun.
- It's getting-- - Yeah it's getting there.
- Stretchy.
- Definitely getting there.
So if you look at our mochi, it's looking pretty good.
We're gonna try to act like the professionals in Japan,
and there's on guy kinda like flipping the rice
and the one guy's pounding it,
but you can't pound my hand.
Every time I do that, you beat once.
Right?
(machine buzzing)
Oh, beep!
See the rice is cooked, and we'll press pound.
I'm fascinated with what's going on over here.
Been the same amount of time,
but you can tell the Zojirushi definitely has more power.
Also, if you look at it side by side,
my ball here, it's definitely more developed
than the Tiger machine.
I mean, I have faith that this is gonna achieve
what this is achieving eventually,
it's just slower and less power.
Okay guys, the Zojirushi, first one to be done.
I think we kinda gave up on the hand method
just because the rice seems a little overcooked,
it seems too, like, too wet.
I'm a perfectionist
and normally I would just like finish that,
but we have the mochi gadget,
it will make your mochi perfectly.
You don't even know how excited I am about this.
The Tiger.
Grab this guy out.
And then it comes with this little rolling pin
so that you can roll out your mochi
and shape it however you like.
Obviously there's so many different ways to enjoy mochi.
You can fill it with red bean,
or something sweet, or chestnuts or whatever,
or you could just roll it out into cylinders
and dry it out and cut them,
and add it to your soup or stir fry or whatever.
But this is like cooked, you know.
It has good texture.
Honestly, it's a tad dry,
but it doesn't mean that it's not gonna work,
you can just add a little bit more moisture.
Comparing the two mochi making gadgets,
I would say the Zojirushi is much more powerful,
and you can tell by the way the product came out.
The Tiger, it's still a little bit, it's not as smooth,
right, I can still feel a little bit of the kernels.
I'm sure if we left it on longer
it could maybe achieve that,
but guess what, this did it in less than an hour,
it was super quick, and very precise.
So in conclusion, if you are a mochi lover,
or maybe you've just never had mochi before,
then you definitely have to get this product.
I love it.
I mean, I just love it, I love mochi,
I love anything mochi,
so I'm probably gonna take this one home
and make mochi all day.
(upbeat music)