Mochi

Mochi (餅, もち) is Japanese rice cake made of mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While also eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and is commonly sold and eaten during that time. In Taiwan, Mochi is called muâ-tsî (麻糍) in Taiwanese Hokkien and má-sû (麻糬) in Taiwanese Mandarin.

Mochi is a multicomponent food consisting of polysaccharides, lipids, protein and water. Mochi has a heterogeneous structure of amylopectin gel, starch grains and air bubbles. This rice is characterized by its lack of amylose in starch and is derived from short or medium japonica rices. The protein concentration of the rice is a bit higher than normal short-grain rice and the two also differ in amylose content. In mochi rice, the amylose content is negligible, which results in the soft gel consistency.

Preparation

Traditionally, mochi was made from whole rice, in a labor-intensive process. The traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan is Mochitsuki:

Mochi (Cheyenne)

Mochi ("Buffalo Calf"; c. 1841 – 1881) was a Southern Cheyenne woman of the Tse Tse Stus band and the wife of Chief Medicine Water. Mochi, then a 24-year-old, was a member of Black Kettle's camp and was present on the morning of November 29, 1864, when John Chivington and over 650 troops of the First Colorado Cavalry, Third Colorado Cavalry and a company of the 1st Regiment New Mexico Volunteer Cavalry attacked Black Kettle's winter camp at Sand Creek on the plains of eastern Colorado Territory (referred to as the Sand Creek Massacre).

During the unprovoked attack, Mochi witnessed her mother being shot in the forehead and killed by an American soldier who had entered their tipi. According to her account, he then attempted to rape her, prompting her to shoot and kill him with her grandfather's rifle. She then fled the camp with the other survivors trying to evade Chivington's men. After the massacre, she became a warrior and engaged in raiding and warfare for the next 11 years.

Mochi (magazine)

Mochi is an online quarterly magazine and daily blog with a mission statement that aims to empower young Asian American women.

Mochi was founded by Maggie Hsu, Stephanie Wu, and Sandra Sohn in 2008. The magazine's conceived goal was to "provide a community for Asian American teenage girls to access sisterly advice and gain self-esteem," with articles written from a range of perspectives, including high school students, college women, young professionals, and other role models. The magazine was originally intended to be a print publication, but transitioned online to appeal to a younger audience, overcome printing costs and reach a wider geographic range of readers. It is entirely run by an all-volunteer staff.

Current members of the executive board include Maggie Hsu, Stephanie Wu, Christine Wei, and Tiffany Hu.

Features

Mochi has served as a catalyst for conversation on the Asian American identity in the film, music, politics, fashion and everyday life. The first issue had actress Brenda Song as a cover girl, which was arranged through the founders' connection to the entertainment industry. Since then, Mochi has interviewed multiple prominent role models in the Asian American community, including YouTube beauty vlogger Michelle Phan, Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, The Bling Ring actress Katie Chang, comedian Margaret Cho, professional golfer Michelle Wie, Bay Area politician Evan Low, Big Hero 6 actor Daniel Henney, Mandopop singer Wang Leehom, and K-pop group f(x)'s Amber Liu, among others.