Banana Mochi Calories

- Written by Eifa Armar

Japan is known for its aesthetically pleasing style of making and presenting food. Even simple street food is presented in the “kawaii” way, as it is said in the country (meaning cute). A popular dessert from Japan that is loved because of the beautiful colours and its cute round shape is the Mochi.

Traditionally white in colour and made with sweet red bean paste, the modern version of the dessert comes in a variety of bright, pastel colours, and can be filled with an endless array of fillings, from other sweet bean pastes to ice creams, custards and fruits. The mochi, though takes some practice to get the right, smooth shape, is delicious whether it looks pretty or not. The sweet, chewy rice flour gives way to a flavourful filling that bursts in one’s mouth.

The most popular variations of the dessert, outside of Japan are the ones filled with ice cream, or healthier fruit. These sweets are light on the stomach and pretty for pictures, which is why the western culture loves it so much. The variation we will be seeing today is a simple one, filled with banana. Besides, fruits are easier to handle, compared to melting ice cream and sticky bean paste. Thus, for beginners, it’s best to use fruit.

You can use any fruit to make the same recipe, you simply have to replace the same amount of it in each Mochi ball. Let us have a look at how to make this adorable Japanese treat!

Banana Mochi Recipe

This recipe makes 10 Mochi balls (approx. 350 g in total):

Banana Mochi Ingredients:

-90 g glutinous rice flour

-180 ml water

-50 g caster sugar

-Corn starch to knead and prevent the dough from sticking

-100 g banana, cut into thick pieces

-Optional- Pink gel food colouring- 1 drop

Method:

1. Place the rice flour, sugar and water in a microwave safe bowl and mix them thoroughly. Loosely wrap the bowl with cling wrap and microwave on 600 W for 2 minutes.

Take the bowl out and stir well.

2. Place the cling wrap back on and microwave for another minute (and a half if needed). The mochi dough should be shiny and gel like at this point.

3. Add the food colouring at this point and mix well so everything is well incorporated.

4. Dust a cookie tray with a generous dusting of cornstarch and empty the hot mochi dough onto it. Then generously put some more cornstarch on top of the dough. Use your fingers to start flattening the dough out to form a 8 by 12 inch rectangle.

5. Chill this in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6. Next, cut 10 squares out of the dough sheet.

7. Place a square of plastic wrap on a plate and place one mochi sheet on it. Then place another square of plastic wrap over this, over which another mocha sheet is placed.

Layer the sheets, in this manner, sandwiching platic wrap between two sheets, each time.

Chill these for another 30 minutes.

8. Once chilled, dust the excess starch off and place one piece of banana in each mochi sheet, wrapping the piece properly with the mocha.

9. Pinch the edges together so the ball is completely sealed. Use some more

plastic wrap to tightly pack the dough around the piece of banana.

10. That is it! You can eat the mochi right away or chill it for sometimes before you eat.

Either way, the mochi is a light, sweet treat that has its own oriental charm. The sweet rice flour is chewy and the banana gives a creamy texture. It is great after a heavy meal, to freshen up your taste buds. The banana variation is healthier than the usual mochi too! Since it has fruit, it has a higher amount of fibre. It has much lower quantities of fat too!

Let us take a look at its nutritional values of Banana mochi:

Carbohydrates: Total in grams for 34 g- 21.13g

Total in percentage for 34 g- 62.17%

Proteins: Total in grams for 34 g- 1.049g

Total in percentage for 34 g- 3.085 %

Fats: Total in grams for 34 g- 0.035g

Total in percentage for 34 g- 0.103%

The total intake of calories in one 34 g serving is 90.64 calories.

Making this dish may seem like a herculean task at first, but it gets easy as you work with the dough.Also, the more you knead the dough, the more elastic it gets. So, you can work the dough to your taste.The number of colours and flavor variations with a mochi are endless and it looks really pretty- like a wrapped present, each time.

Happy snacking!