Mochi Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Reuben and I have been together for almost 6 years. Wowza! Our anniversary is a month away actually! Over the years, we’ve focused less on presents to mark Valentine’s Day, Anniversaries, Birthdays, and Christmas. Instead we opt for gifting each other “experiences” or making each other food. Food is our love language so it only makes sense!

For Valentine’s Day 2015 (our first as a couple!) I made THE WORST SCONES EVER. I think Reuben was going through a gluten free phase, so I made him a batch of heart shaped gluten free bacon scones. Gosh, they were so dry and sandy. I was so horrified when I tried one… they were terrible. But! for some reason I still decided to gift the sad lot of sandy scones to Reuben. He was and still is too nice to me. He knew they were terrible but didn’t have the heart to tell me or throw them away… so he just kept them in the ziplock bag on the counter for weeks, until I finally forced him to toss them. This is a great example of it’s the thought that counts!

That same year, Reuben woke me up with mini steamers full of dumplings from our favorite dim sum spot! Wish I thought of that…

Fast forward to Valentine’s Day 2016, I attempt to make bagels for the first time to surprise Reuben with homemade bagel breakfast sandwiches! This was waaaaay before I knew anything about making bread or working with leavened dough. They were very under-proofed and dense, but they tasted okay with cheese and bacon!

Reuben made me an incredible pizza that year and also gifted me a box of Japanese confections from K.Minamoto! Everything there is incredible and delicious! I would much rather have a box of mochi wrapped sweets than a box of chocolates any day. Actually, could I just have both?

So pretty much I’m a terrible gift giver and Reuben is the best. I’ve become a better cook in the last few years, so my edible gifts are far less embarrassing now!

I keep thinking back to the mochi wrapped sweets that Reuben got me and really wanted to create something similar for Valentine’s Day this year! Mochi confections can be filled with red bean paste, jams, and fruits. Anything really! I especially lover Ichigo Daifuku, which is a strawberry wrapped in red bean paste and then wrapped in mochi! This recipe is a play on that but swapped out the red bean paste for rich chocolate! I love making chocolate covered strawberries, but adding an extra layer of sweet and chewy mochi takes it to a whole other level!

Mochi is made with sweet rice flour or sometimes called mochiko flour! Bob’s Red Mill makes sweet rice flour and it’s so great! I love using it to make butter mochi and mochi muffins. Until recently, I had never made just plain mochi before. Did you know that it’s super easy with sweet rice flour? I sure didn’t!

Traditional mochi is made by pounding steamed white rice with a wooden mallet until it forms a thick cohesive jiggly ball. It’s very labor intensive and entertaining to watch! But if you have sweet rice flour, making mochi only takes a few minutes!

You whisk together the sweet rice flour with sugar and coconut milk and then cook the mixture in a saucepan over medium heat. Make sure to continually stir the mochi mixture until it has thickened and form one mass. Cornstarch is going to be your friend. Heavily dust a baking tray lined with a silicone mat and dump out the mochi. At this point you can dust a rolling pin with cornstarch and roll out a thin sheet of mochi. To wrap the strawberries (or ice cream!!), cut out 3” rounds with a cookie cutter, or you could cut the mochi into small bites for other treats!

The process of making these Mochi Chocolate Covered Strawberries is a little messy but they are so worth it for a delightful and thoughtful gift for someone you love!

Mochi Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Makes 12

Materials:
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
382g (1 13.5oz can of) full-fat coconut milk
225g (1 ½ cup) Bob’s Red Mill Sweet Rice Flour or mochiko flour
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
1 drop red food coloring or 1 tsp beet root powder
12 medium strawberries (smaller are easier to work with)
cornstarch, for dusting
sesame seeds, for topping

Steps:

1. To make mochi, combine coconut milk, sweet rice flour, sugar, and red food coloring in a saucepan. Whisk vigorously until smooth. Heat over medium heat. Stir the mixture continuously with a rubber spatula for 6-8 minutes, until the mochi has thickened and formed one mass. It should be pulling away from the sides of the saucepan and require a decent amount of arm strength to stir, if it doesn’t then the mochi is not ready yet and keep cooking.

2. Line a baking tray with a silicone mat and dust with a generous amount of cornstarch. Transfer the mochi onto the mat. Allow the mochi to cool for 5 minutes. Heavily dust the top of the mochi and a rolling pin with cornstarch and then roll out the mochi until it’s ¼” thick. Allow the mochi to fully cool.

3. Melt chocolate in a heat safe bowl over a double boiler or in the microwave. To melt in the microwave, microwave for 20 seconds and then stir the chocolate - continue heating in 20 second increments until smooth to avoid burning the chocolate. Pour chocolate into a mug for dipping.

4. Rinse and dry strawberries. Cut the stems off the strawberries, leaving a flat edge. Arrange the strawberries on their flat edge on a parchment lined baking tray. Using a skewer or fork, skewer the tip of the straw and then dip into the chocolate. Shake off any excess chocolate and place back on the baking tray. Repeat with remaining strawberries. Place the chocolate covered strawberries in the freezer or fridge until the chocolate has set.

5. Cut a 3” or 3 1/2” (depends on the size of the berry) round of mochi and gently wrap the chocolate covered strawberry. Pinch the ends closed to seal the strawberry and place back on the baking tray. Repeat with remaining strawberries. Lightly brush the mochi with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

6. Enjoy immediately or store them in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer.

Thanks, Bob’s Red Mill, for sponsoring this post!