i am probably being a bit confusing, so let me explain.
while sorting through old recipe cards, i had one of those moments. i found a recipe for blueberry mochi, written in my handwriting- or in my handwriting of ten or fifteen years ago. i knew i'd never made this recipe, but i did have a memory of copying it down.
my family and i are at my grandmother's house for a visit. as always, she's brought out an assortment of canned beverages and cups on a small circular wood tray. i split a can of something with one of my parents and settle in for our visit. on these visits with my grandmother, we'll have our drinks, watch some tv (usually the gameshow network), then head home. if my grandmother attended a recent church function, she'll bring out an mix of desserts and point out which ones were good or not so good. apparently every function at her church ended with lots of extra desserts, and everyone went home with a sample of leftovers.
on this occasion, she brings out a recipe. while i can't remember what it was written on, i can still hear her telling me, "write this down. oishii."
oishii means 'delicious' in japanese. from my stoic grandmother, this is high praise. unfortunately, i remember feeling lazy, not wanting to hand-copy a recipe, and saying something like, "nah, that's okay."
apparently this recipe is really delicious, because she insists, "no, this is good."
my dad steps in and tells me to copy it, so i do. not because i really want a blueberry mochi recipe, but because my grandmother and now my father are telling me to.
now i am glad that i did since my grandmother was right, it is good. she passed away two years ago, and it's been even longer since she was well enough to live unassisted and go to church functions. finding this recipe card brought back happy memories. while i'm not sure if the details are completely accurate, the wood tray of drinks and cups, eating church function left-over desserts, and watching the gameshow network were all part of our regular visits that i'd almost forgotten.
for anyone not familiar with mochi, it's traditionally made by pounding cooked sweet rice until individual grains have broken down and reformed into a chewy blob of slightly sweet goodness. this recipe modernizes the idea, creating what can best be described as a blueberry cake with the chewiness of mochi. it uses sweet rice flour, or mochiko, so no pounding is required.
i found the original recipe on the hawaii electric company website; its for 24 servings (baked in a 9"x13"x2" pan). this is a great size for a potluck (or in the case of my grandmother, a church function) and requires less measuring as it calls for whole boxes or cans of ingredients.
i've adapted the recipe here for a 9x9 pan because 24 servings is just way too much for me and the geek.
equipment
9"x9" oven-safe dish or pan
large mixing bowl
toothpicks (to test doneness)
ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sugar
6 ounces evaporated milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1.5 cups plus 2 tablespoons mochiko (sweet rice flour, available in asian markets. recommended brand: blue star brand by koda farms)
10-11 ounces blueberry pie filling (this is half a can of wilderness/comstock brand)
directions
- position rack in the middle of the oven and pre-heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. grease a 9"x9" baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
- in a large mixing bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until combined.
- add the milk, eggs and vanilla and mix.
- add the mochiko and baking powder and mix until smooth.
- fold in the blueberry pie filling to create a marble effect.
- tip mixture into prepared dish and bake for 40-45 minutes. its done when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
- cool and then cut into squares.
12-16 servings.
notes
the amount of mochiko used in this recipe is equal to half a box of the blue star brand.
once cooled, i store this in the refrigerator tightly covered.
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