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| Daifuku mochi from La Boulangerie |
The La Boulangerie bakery in Ellicott City has a fun display of cakes, cookies and other sweets, but I stopped by last weekend for fresh mochi based on Gabrielle's suggestion on a prior post.
Daifuku mochi is a Japanese dessert with a sweet pastry made from rice wrapped around a filling of even-sweeter red bean filling. That rice-cake mochi does many duties in Asian desserts, including as a topping on the tart frozen yogurt places that have popped up recently.
In La Boulangerie's daifuku, the mochi is almost floating away. It's a mild flavor and a light, almost fluffy texture. Imagine the texture of a steamed bun or a super-gourmet marshmallow. It's the fresh taste of just-baked pastry, and it is wrapped around a sweet, rich filling. Gabrielle is right that these are exceptional. Mochi can be an acquired taste, but this is the place to seek it out. Slice up the pieces, and serve them with fruit for a summer dessert.
Check out the photo above. I confirmed with Wikipedia, so I'm confident that I bought daifuku mochi. But the folks at La Boulangerie didn't recognize that name. I asked by name and even showed them the written-out word. They showed me "donuts" and "mochi." The mochi was the right choice -- although they're priced like other fresh-based pastries at more than $5 for four large pieces.
9 comments:
THANK YOU!!! I had mochi for the first time at a sushi restaurant in VA a few months ago and have not been able to find it anywhere in HoCo (except for the mochi ice cream at trader joes). You have made my day/month/year!!
they probably didn't recognize daifuku because they're korean, and not japanese.
@EastCoast Matt -- The woman had a conversation with me about how the dessert and how it is Japanese. She knew what it was. She just didn't seem to lock onto the name. Or how I was (mis?)-pronouncing it.)
Exciting find. Fresh mochi is a true treat. Much better than the mass-produced "mochi" that goes on froyo these days.
You can find it at Hmart or other asian grocery stores. I prefer the Japanese/Chinese mochi over the Korean ones. Peanut filling ones are delicious as well.
@David -- I like the mochi from the refrigerated sections of Asian stores, but it's not the same as La Boulangerie's mochi. The outside was incredible light and fluffy. It was like getting fresh bread from Bonaparte versus getting good bread at a supermarket.
@David -- Agree wholeheartedly with HowChow. I would never describe "supermarket" mochi as having a marshmallow-y texture, but the fresh stuff does.
Buyer beware, however. In my experience, "real" mochi doesn't age very well. HowChow, what was your experience? Did you purchase the mochi the same day it was made? Did the mochi have the same light consistency the next day?
Sorry, I have absolutely no experience with mochi on the next day. Between my husband, son, and I we're lucky if the mochi makes it out of the shopping center before being gobbled up! :-)
@BMore -- I thought the mochi was great the first day, and they definitely dried a bit over two days. It seemed like other good dessert -- great because it doesn't have the preservatives.
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