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There’s a reason we say “selling like hotcakes”, and that reason is that hotcakes are awesome. These fluffy, light little circles of joy were sent to make snack time delightful and fill the world with rainbows and sunshine.

But if you’ve ever looked down at your little pancakes and thought “hey, this just isn’t Japanese enough for me!” then we have the answer for you. Mochi, Japan’s favourite rice cake, is said to make hot cakes even fluffier and even more awesome. But how do you add a solid, square block of mochi to a bowl of pancake mix anyway?

Whether you call them hotcakes or pancakes (I’ll be using the terms interchangeably, being a firm believer that while not all pancakes are hotcakes, hotcakes are a type of pancake), mochi might just be the secret ingredient we’ve all been missing.

But first, let’s skip to the end and see what mochi hot cakes look like! This first pic isn’t the most appealing pancake photo I’ve seen all day (and believe me, I’ve looked at a lot of pancake photos today), but I bet it tasted good.

▼ “I had a go at making the mochi hot cakes I saw on (recipe site) Pekori. They were so springy and delicious!”

▼ “I made mochi pancakes with leftover mochi from New Years!”

https://instagram.com/p/xst819lGGu/

▼ “I wasn’t hungry, but when I made these mochi hot cakes for my daughter I tried a bit – it was great!”

So how do you go about making mochi pancakes anyway? We did some digging around and, via Japanese blogger NumaYa, found this recipe from TV show Hiru nan desu! which we’ve translated for you:

First off, the ingredients (serves one):

– one slice of kirimochi
– 75g hot cake mix
– one egg
– 50ml milk
– 50ml yogurt
– 1tsp vinegar (rice vinegar i.e. kome-su)
– honey (to taste)

▼ That’s right, the recipe calls for kirimochi, mochi cut into rectangular blocks. But how can we make that into pancakes?!

1024px-Mochi_002Wikipedia/Kropsoq

The secret tool, you see, is our old pal the microwave! Here’s the recipe:

1) Put the mochi and milk into a suitable container and heat in the microwave for two minutes.
2) Meanwhile, put the hot cake mix, egg, yogurt and vinegar into a large bowl.
3) Remove the mochi and milk from the microwave, and mix together into a smooth paste.
4) Stir the mochi paste into the bowl with the other ingredients and mix it in until marbled.
5) Pour the mixture into a hot frying pan and cook on both sides until golden brown.

Apparently, melting the block of mochi in milk allows it to swirl beautifully into the hot cake mix. Yum!

Screen Shot 2015-04-15 at 11.46.17NumaYa

It seems like mochi hot cakes are tasty enough with butter and a little honey, but that didn’t stop more adventurous Twitterers from trying out some other awesome combinations.

▼ Ichigo daifuku (a whole strawberry wrapped in anko bean paste and soft white mochi) was the inspiration for this strawberry jam and mochi pancake ensemble.

https://twitter.com/dancingoru/status/554118998699163648

▼ What did you have for breakfast today? This Twitter user also had their mochi hot cakes ichigo-daifuku style.

https://twitter.com/yined117/status/554425022932996097

▼ Alternatively, you could top your mochi pancakes with whipped cream and maple syrup.

▼ Or banana and…is that kinako (soy bean flour)?

▼  “I made those hot cakes with kirimochi everyone was going on about. I had them with mum’s homemade marmalade!

https://instagram.com/p/lEa2HysUd3

▼ This sakura mochi pancake one is probably the winner for Japaneseness. A tower of whipped cream, matcha powder, and pink squishy sakura mochi.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some cooking to be getting on with.

Source: Naver Matome
Featured image: Twitter/yined117


 

mp-32Still hungry? Try our super simple and incredibly tasty rice cooker matcha pancake recipe!