- Okay, so here we are, season two Eating Your Feed.
- Season two.
I'm Andrew.
- I'm Niki and this is Patrick.
- So today, our dear, dear friends Adam and Annie
challenged us to make Mochi.
- Based on a viral video we found on YouTube.
♪ Do, do, do, do, do ♪
- So this video comes from a channel called
Only in Japan.
This guys John Daub makes it.
- This is a street food shop in Japan,
they've got two guys.
- Whoa, they're swing those things.
- Swinging mallets into like a bowl looking thing.
So this is the process of taking
rice
to
mochi which is this glutenous rice substance.
- Oh wow!
(yelling)
We can't do that!
- That was really heavy,
he looked like he was really. - Hi, hi, hi, hi,
cha, cha, cha. - Yeah.
- So we're gonna bring on our culinary expert
and good friend Rie.
- Hey Rie, come on down.
- Welcome back, we're making mochi.
- Yay. - What do you think?
- It's fun.
- Yeah? - I used to do it
when I was in elementary school.
- Oh wow.
- I ask my mom to get a photo.
- Did she have it
- She's still looking.
- Oh, we need that photo.
- To be determined. - I need it.
('80's pop music)
- I've never had mochi, so I'm very excited.
- Oh, wow.
In addition to the special equipment,
we also needed special rice.
Which we bought in advance
because it needed to be soaked overnight.
But, what we also bought
is some mochi to eat right now.
Oh the texture is amazing.
- [Group] Cheers!
- [Niki] Mochi!
- You know I have had this before.
(laughing)
- The outside green stuff is the mochi
and inside is red bean paste?
- [Rie] Mm-hmm.
- And then it's covered in soy bean flower.
So the texture is very gelatinous.
- Yes. - Almost like
very soft gummy bears.
So this way of making mochi requires
those special equipment,
things. - Mm-hmm,
there is a machine that makes mochi
but this is the traditional way.
- This organization called Kizuna,
they actually have this equipment
because they do mochi making classes
and so they're gonna lend it to us.
- Off to the JACCC.
(mellow jazz music)
- So to make mochi we are required to find
some special equipment,
and you have that special equipment.
- Hi.
- [Niki] Who are you and why do you have this?
- My name's Kent Marume and I work here
at the Japanese American Culture and Community Center.
So right now we're here in the James Irvine Japanese Garden
in Little Tokyo and we're going to be borrowing
Kiznua's mochi zukia equipment.
And Kiznua's mission is to educate, engage,
and empower the next generation
of Japanese and Japanese American youth.
So, in order to make mochi the traditional way,
you're gonna need a few items.
One, you're gonna need a steamer
to steam the mochigome rice
and you're going to put it in the usu
and then once it's in there, you're gonna take the kine,
and you're going to start breaking down the rice
from its grain structure to basically a paste.
I'm gonna take my left hand and make a fist on top
and we're gonna push down into the usu like this.
- How long does the pounding process typically take?
- Depends how much effort you put into it.
(laughing)
- Okay, so for your team, for example.
- We can get through one mochi
in maybe 10, 15 minutes.
- Oh really, wow. - [Kent] Yeah, yeah.
- Do you think we can do this?
- Yeah, you folks are gonna be great.
- Wow, we got the Kent seal of approval there.
- Do you know the number of people who die every year?
- I don't know.
- It's been reduced--
- Wait, hold on.
We gotta, wait.
- When eating the mochi, I would say,
be very careful and to chew it very well.
People who eat mochi have a tendency to choke on it
and some people even die.
- Eating it, not even from making it.
- Yes.
- Well, thank you for giving us the little lesson.
- Of course.
- I think it's time for us to give it a go.
- Alright, good luck.
- Should we just, we'll just, we'll take this out.
- Okay.
- Okay, be careful.
- Thank you.
- We'll see yeah.
- [Niki] We look like Paul Bunyan.
- We did this wrong.
Alright.
Okay.
- So, to make mochi, you start with rice
and we had to get a particular kind of rice
that is meant for mochi making
which is a--
- [Rie] Mochi rice. - [Niki] Sweet mochi rice.
It's superior, short grain, sweet rice.
And now we need to cook it.
Kent recommended on cup rice
to one and a quarter cups water.
- I think we should do four.
- Yeah, four cups of rice is five cups of water.
(whooshing)
One,
two,
three.
Check out my apron.
- [Rie] I want that one. - [Patrick] Fromage.
- Ta-da.
Now I'm measuring the water to rice ratio.
Beep.
No, it's not plugged in.
- 60 minutes!.
- Yeah, we could just do double during on here, right.
- Double duty.
Three for Patrick. - [Andrew] Two for Andrew.
- [Niki] Three for Patrick, three for Andrew.
- Okay--
- This is very stressful. - The last one for Patrick
where we go. - I win.
- Bloop.
- Oop, the light didn't come on,
is that plugged in?
- Oh wow, look at that.
- Oh! - Oh yeah, cook.
- Do we have a lid? - Later.
- Oh sure. | - Oh, it's wet, sorry,
oh my God, oh no.
- On the electronics, oh boy.
- It's fine, we're gonna be fine.
- [Together] One hour later.
- [Andrew] So here we are.
- We gotta clean it first
- I'll scrub it.
- [Rie] It look like a face.
- Oh yeah.
- [Niki] It does look a - [Andrew] If you put two
- [Niki] little like a face. - [Andrew] eyes right there.
- [Rie] I'm Usu.
- It's important that mochi stays hot while it's being made,
so we're using warm water
in hopes of warming up the usu altogether.
- [Patrick] Yeah, oh yeah. - [Andrew] Yeah.
- [Niki] It looks great.
- [Andrew] This is incredible.
- Alright guys, good luck.
(group laughs)
- Oo.
- [Andrew] Should we test the texture of it.
- [Niki] That a lot of water.
- [Group] Aah. - [Andrew] I mean, its pretty.
- [Patrick] Yeah that looks like.
- [Niki] That looks pretty gelatinous.
- [Patrick] Yeah.
- This is probably overcooked.
- [Andrew] Mhm. - [Rie] And I feel like,
even we pound it, doesn't form.
- [Niki] It's just gonna turn into mush.
- We can try it, but my gut's telling me
it might be overcooked.
- [Andrew] I don't know guys, I'm kind of into it.
- [Patrick] Yeah, I hope this works.
I mean, I've never seen this done before--
(horror stinger)
- [Rie] Ah, hot. - Is it hot?
- [Niki] Ow.
Andrew.
- [Andrew] Okay, I have all the rice now.
- [Niki] Oh, here it comes.
Blorp.
Oh.
- [Patrick] Squidge, squidge.
- [Niki] The mallets will help keep it hot
because we'll be dipping it in hot water.
- [Andrew] Yeah. - [Niki] And the first thing
we're doing is squidging.
Ew.
- [Andrew] What's it feel like?
Oh, it's so smooshy.
- Say it ain't so. - It's like,
straight up oatmeal in this bucket.
- It does sound a little like.
- [Andrew] What do you think of that audio.
- It's so gross.
- [Andrew] It now looks like mashed potatoes.
- [Niki] How's it look Rie?
- [Rie] Uh...
- [Niki] Bad?
It looks like two wooden horses
are like,
trying to like,
kiss each other.
- It is changing. - I mean, it's sort of, yeah.
- [Niki] Do you wanna get in here?
- Oh, your rhythm is good.
- [Niki] Wow, these guys
are naturals. - Wow.
Look at that.
- [Patrick] Okay.
Yeah, this isn't gonna get gelatinous and bouncy.
I don't think this is gonna get there.
- [Patrick] It's definitely pacing up,
but I get why we would wanna just
actually start it the right way from the start.
So. - Yeah.
- [Rie] 'Cause, do you remember the video.
It was clean, - [Patrick] Right.
- [Rie] like it's not coming out like this.
- It needs to be stickier, which means less water.
- Yeah, I mean, it tastes like bland, dry rice porridge.
Ah.
So yesterday, we had some overnight soaked rice
that we put in a rice cooker,
but we think that's wrong.
We think you only soak if you're going to steam.
- Yeah. - And what is the difference
between cooking and steaming?
- The mechanism.
- [Andrew] The mechanism.
- So, my work wife, Hitomi's mom, let us borrow steamer.
- [Niki] Your work wife,
your work mother-in-law. - [Patrick] Mother-in-law.
- Yeah yeah yeah.
- Look at how legit that looks.
- We've decide that we're going to steam rice
instead of using the rice cooker.
- [Patrick] I can do that job.
- Okay, go ahead.
- Alright, how far up am I going here?
What are we?
- I can do that job, okay, how do I do this job.
- [Rie] Bottom, it's a pot,
so we fill with water, and let it boil.
- [Andrew] We've got eight cups soaked.
We're gonna do four cups per batch.
- [Patrick] I got mugs for coffee.
- [Rie] Thank you.
- I came in at the wrong time?
- [Niki] It's okay.
- [Rie] And then we spread
this cheese cloth over the steamer.
So, you just have to poke the holes,
so the steam can escape.
- [Niki] Alright, let's put this puppy on.
- [Rie] Let it steam for 30 to 40 minutes,
and we will see if it's fully cooked.
- [Niki] Yes. - [Patrick] Speaking of steam.
Yay, who wants some?
- I feel pretty good about our steamer.
- We had this classic method,
but we weren't pairing it
with the classic method
of steaming it. - Oh.
- We're trying to go too high tech with that robot.
- [Rie] Ah.
- [Niki] That looks so much better than yesterday.
- [Rie] That's what you want.
- Alright, we're doing it.
- [Niki] This looks good.
- [Andrew] Oh yeah.
- [Niki] I know, it doesn't look like porridge.
- [Patrick] No yeah, that looks like rice.
- [Niki] Yeah, this is different, it's less sloshy.
It's smooshing.
Yeah, it's way more encouraging.
- [Niki] You wanna swap out, Andrew?
- Yeah, let us know when you wanna swap.
- [Niki] Get in there.
It's harder to press now 'cause it's
less wet. - [Andrew] Oh yeah,
this is harder than yesterday.
Oh yeah, look at that, - [Niki] That looks great.
- [Andrew] we're getting there.
- [Niki] Yeah, it definitely looks pretty paste like.
- Yeah. - Could you imagine making
this in an apartment
with your neighbors downstairs.
(Rie laughs)
- No.
Woo.
- [Rie] Oh, sorry.
Do you guys want to do it? - It's great.
Get in there.
- [Andrew] Yeah, ball it up.
Feels good.
- It's more satisfying than the squishing, right?
- Yeah, this is the best part.
Adam's dying
to pound the mochi. - Oh yeah, Annie too.
- [Niki And Rie] Yeah.
- Oh.
- [Andrew] Adam's doing the pounding that I like.
- Yeah.
- [Niki] Oh, that pulls pretty nicely.
- Yeah. - It's mochi.
- Mhm, that's mochi.
- Yeah.
- The last round of pound
is with one person with their hands
and they're flipping it and slapping it
while one person pounds.
We're gonna need to do that very carefully.
- Am I doing right?
- [Niki] You're doing great. - Okay.
- Ugh. - Ha.
- Ha. - Hi.
- [Niki] Slap it down.
- [Andrew] Yeah.
- [Rie] Yaaa. - [Niki] Yeah.
- Oh that was good, that is satisfying.
Do Patrick and I get to do that?
- No, you guys are too dangerous for that.
- We beat the (bleep) out of it,
now we're gonna cover it with some warm towels.
- [Niki] To keep it hot.
- So, we gonna shape the mochi, and this is mochiko.
It's a rice flour.
- [Niki] It's so little, no really.
- When you're shaping, make sure
you covered your hand with flour
'cause it's really sticky.
This was actually my first job when I was 14.
- Really? - [Patrick] Really?
- [Rie] Shaping mochi. - You we're a mochi shaper,
that's so cute. - How long did you
do that for?
- Just for New Years.
- [Andrew] Feels really good.
- [Patrick] Yeah.
- I'm definitely thinking about choking and dying now
this is pretty, like a large.
- Yeah, I've been thinking about that all night.
Flower hits the board and you stick to your hands,
that's a mochi.
- If anyone wants.
- Oh.
Oh you got a cute little, - [Niki] Oh, that looks
- [Andrew] yeah you did good. - [Niki] pretty good.
Not bad.
- So, I think we can eat it right now if you want to.
- Yeah, I wanna - I'm gonna go
- eat it fresh. - for a little bite.
Yeah that's mochi.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- We made mochi.
- Yeah, we did that.
- Looking at the video, we have not made it green,
or filled it with anything,
which should be our next stage of the challenge.
I don't think we can get this exact ingredient
that makes it green from the video.
- The green is coming from yomogi.
It's a Japanese herb.
I've never seen it in L.A.,
so maybe we can go to grocery store,
find something
close to yomogi. - Similar.
- First, we're gonna sample it with soy sauce though.
- [Rie] It's popular way to eat mochi.
Eat it with soy sauce and sugar, a little bit sugar.
- [Andrew] Yeah.
- [Rie] And seaweed.
- That looks great, yeah, gimme.
I'm gonna get in there. - Yeah, I'm getting
right in there.
- Oh yeah, that's really satisfying.
- As a person who only ever had ice cream mochi,
this flavor is a revalation. - Yeah.
(mellow jazz music)
- We're back from the grocery store.
Sweet
beans.
- Roasted soybean powder.
- Matcha instead of yomogi.
- Is this gonna make the kine green?
We should be alright, we just have to be careful.
- We're about ready to make the next batch of mochi.
Alright.
- [Niki] First things first, we gotta steam the rice.
- [Andrew] Bravo, bravo.
(Patrick speaks in foreign language)
- [Niki] Let's poke holes.
Oh my God. - [Andrew] Boop, boop.
- Stop.
- [Niki] Anyone just steam it the same way.
- Okay, now we're gonna get the beans ready to go.
Can I tell you that this is one of my favorite things to do.
- [Niki] Open cans?
- [Andrew] Yeah. - [Niki] That's weird.
- Alright so, we're going to mash up some of these beans.
- [Niki] To be more of a paste.
- Can I ask a question about this bowl.
Is it used for any specific thing.
- Yeah, we use it for grind the sesame.
- So, it's a sesame based bowl.
- [Rie] Well, you can use it for something else too.
- [Niki] It's like a Japanese mortar and pestle.
- [Rie] Yes.
- [Niki] Can you guys take that over there.
Rie, come here.
- That was my part.
- [Niki] Nah, you opened
the can and scooped them out. - [Patrick] Go, go.
- Doing our mochi dance, doing our mochi stance.
- Who are our first smooshers?
You wanna be the first smooshers?
- [Andrew] Yeah.
- [Niki] So, we gotta put it in and fold it.
- Through this journey I've felt
a real kine-ship with you guys.
- Awe, thanks.
Whoa.
- [Patrick] Wow. - [Andrew] Yeah baby.
- [Patrick] That is the appropriate amount.
- [Andrew] I think we could pound it for like 10% more.
Get a nice, smoother consistency.
- [Niki] Almost look like a sword fight.
- [Patrick] Yeah, that looks way greener.
Oh see, this is synchronicity.
This is what Sting was talking about.
(Andrew laughs)
- [Niki] It's pretty green. - [Patrick] Yes,
that looks great.
- [Niki] It's pretty slimy looking.
- Oh, hell yeah, Rie.
You know, it is really starting to look
a lot like the video.
- [Patrick] Count 'em.
- [Rie] One,
one. - [Niki] Two.
- [Rie] One. - [Niki] Two.
- [Rie] One - [Andrew] Yeah,
get in there, Pat.
- [Patrick] You got it pal.
Ha. - Huh.
- Ha. - [Andrew] You know,
making the sounds really helps.
- [Patrick] It does.
- [Rie] I think it's ready.
- Alright, we're moving on to the next phase
of slap and pound.
- [Niki] Hi. - [Rie] Hi.
- [Niki] Huh, Ha, I'm so nervous.
Ha.
- [Rie] I am just touching - [Niki] I know,
- [Rie] mochi. - [Niki] it makes me.
- [Group] Ha.
- [Niki] Yay.
Ha.
- [Patrick] Yay.
- Alright Adam, give us the final slap.
- [Adam] Oh.
- [Andrew] Slam it down.
- Yeah.
- [Niki] Okay, flour.
- Strike a pose.
- [Niki] Ah.
- [Andrew] Who put that there?
(Niki groaning)
- [Andrew] Oh my God.
- So, you are going to take a good portion.
- [Niki] Alright, I'm going in the soy bean.
Oh, yeah, that's bad.
- This one's a fail.
- [Niki] That's a no go.
- [Adam] You guys are doing a good job.
- [Patrick] I know. - [Niki] Yeah.
What are you doing?
So, that's Andrew, and Patrick.
And then Niki and Rie.
- Oh, bingo bongo, I got it.
- Bingo bongo?
- It's just my chant of success.
- We made mochi.
- We really did.
- [Niki] We have a green mochi.
It is flavored with matcha, filled with red bean paste,
and covered in a soy bean powder.
- [Andrew] There's signs of learning as well.
- [Group] Cheers.
- The red bean really works so well.
- And the roasted soy bean powder.
- [Andrew] Mhm. - Yeah.
- Texture-wise it's better than the first try.
- Mhm, a lot smoother.
After we switched to the steamer,
all of the methods that we did were
as it would've been done way back in history.
- If you get an opportunity to do this
with the kine and the usu and a bunch of people,
do it, it's awesome.
- [Andrew] I think we should invite
a bunch of our friends to eat these now.
- [Rie] One, two, three.
- [Group] Whoa.
- I love it. - [Niki] Yeah?
- [Woman] Good job. - [Niki] It's a good texture,
yeah?
This whole process was made possible
because of Kent and Kazuna,
and the Japanese American Culture and Community Center.
So, big thanks to them, and Hitomi's mom and Hitomi.
- [Voiceover] Oh yes.