What if you got some green “yomogi” mochi squares, along with the regular white ones? What is the difference between the two?

Green “yomogi” mochi

Green mochi has green leaves of yomogi (artemisia princeps or Japanese mugwort) mixed in. That’s it.

Yomogi smells a little bit like rosemary and sage, but more subdued and slightly bitter and warm. I like the smell. And the color.

White mochi has a perfectly smooth texture, whereas when I bite into my green mochi I feel bits of plants.

White mochi smells and tastes exactly like rice because it’s just glutinous rice, which is quite sweet on its own. But yomogi mochi “smells green” (yes, if colors had smells, this would be it) and tastes less sweet than white mochi.

How to enjoy green “yomogi” mochi

I grill the green mochi squares exactly the same way I cook the white ones, but there are two things that I do differently with green mochi.

1. Add sugar to soy sauce

I absolutely prefer plain soy sauce with white mochi but! Green ones taste better dipped in sweetened soy sauce. I like to add 1 part sugar to 2 parts soy sauce.

2. Hold nori (sometimes)

Nori and yomogi leaves taste delicious together. But when I feel like enjoying the green scent of yomogi, I go without nori. In which case I eat my mochi with chopsticks.

How to grill a mochi rice cake square

You might want to check this recipe post explaining the ingredients, the tools, the method, and how to eat mochi, but in the meantime, this is what I did the last time.

Preheated the oven, got my nori seaweed and soy sauce out, placed my mochi on the oven tray lined with a piece of parchment paper, and stuck it in the hot oven.

Just stood there and watched my mochi for a few minutes.

Kept watching.

Yes.

Hot mochi in a small bowl of soy sauce and sugar. Not very pretty yet.

Above: crispy side

Below: gooey side

Looking beautiful now.

Enjoy. :)

This post is dedicated to my friend A.

本日のスペシャル

最近の1日1新：尾道紅茶「八朔Tea」ぎょぎょ。すごくおいしくてあっという間に飲んでしまった、幼なじみの広島みやげ。ごちそうさまでした。無脂肪ミルクに合う～。
1日1冊：勝田芽生「老いのロゴセラピー」、Lisa M. Najavits「Finding Your Best Self, Revised Edition: Recovery from Addiction, Trauma, or Both」つづき。