That time we made carrot mochi

We are meat eaters all the way. But, as much as we like eating meat we also love the idea (and challenge) of creating an elevated dish, without relying on featuring a meat protein.

Inspiration struck when we were browsing the produce at a nearby farmer’s market. Produce at the farmer’s market looks 10x more appealing, btw. I mean, just look at this beauty below!!!

We also knew that we had been wanting to test out a recipe from our State Bird Provisions cookbook (which also happens to be our first featured “Cookbook of the month”), and their carrot mochi recipe was a clear winner. We have never mochi-fied a vegetable in our lives, so we had no idea what to expect. It wasn’t nearly as difficult as we thought it would be, but word of advice, there is a bit of prep needed beforehand, including purchasing mochi flour from a local Asian grocery store. We recommend the Koda Farms brand for all your mochi adventure making needs.

The good news is, equipment-wise you just need a large saucier for boiling the carrots and a food processor to puree the carrots. And speaking of puree, that was the most labor intensive part. You also want to be mindful when boiling the carrots, that you don’t over boil them so they keep that nice vibrant orange color. Once the puree is made, you combine with the mochi flour and let it chill in the fridge. Once it’s ready, time to make the mochi balls. And trust us, If you can play with play-doh, consider yourself a certified mochi ball maker!

After the mochi balls are done being chilled, we boiled them, then sauteed them quickly in a pan. To finish, we drizzled a carrot vinaigrette, added pistachios, sesame seeds, dill, and mint.

This dish was a huge hit and we definitely will be thinking about what other vegetables we could mochi-fy next.