
Tonight was one those nights that I didn’t want to slice or cut anything. Basically I didn’t want to “cook.” The fact is I am hungry, so I decided to make myself “yakimochi (grilled rice cakes)” Yaki means grilled and mochi means rice cakes, as you might have guessed it.
I used to grill mochi in a small frying pan but since I got this “yakiami” which is a simple yet essential tool made with ceramic and metal. You can grill vegetables, meat, fish, and of course food like mochi over the stove with it. I sometimes grill “onigiri (rice ball)” with this yakiami so I can add more flavor. Adding soy sauce while grilling onigiri makes you salivate quickly.
Anyway, over low-medium heat, you cook both side of mochi until it gets golden brown (I like a little burnt). There are so many ways to eat grilled rice cakes. For example, you can dip them in ponzu sauce, in shredded radish (mizore-oroshi) and soy sauce, sprinkle soy power and sugar, fry them, spread butter over…list goes on. I wanted to just have a simple and easy night so I added mochi in to my pre-made and heated bonito & kelp stock (dashi).
My simple night completed.