Cabbage Mochi (Soy-Braised Cabbage with Rice Cakes)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 25 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 2 servings
- Ingredients
- 8
About this dish
Cabbage mochi is a local dish from the Ose district of Koriyama, Fukushima, made by coating softened rice cakes with cabbage cooked in soy and kombu seasoning.
Read more
The mochi are first boiled for about two minutes until pliable, while roughly cut cabbage is quickly stir-fried in oil. Sake, mirin, and water are added so the cabbage can soften without scorching. Soy sauce and concentrated kombu noodle sauce then give the vegetables a savory, lightly sweet broth. The drained mochi go in last and are turned gently until every surface is coated. The dish has been prepared in Ose for more than eighty years. Farming households that produced their own rice and cabbage could make it throughout the year, serving it as a simple meal or a substantial snack.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Control
Bring enough water to cover the mochi to a boil.
Boil the rice cakes for about 2 minutes, until soft through the center but still holding their shape, then drain. Roughly cut the cabbage into 3 to 4 cm pieces.
- 2Control
Heat a wide pot or deep skillet over medium heat and add the oil.
Stir-fry the cabbage quickly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the edges look glossy and the outer leaves begin to wilt.
- 3Control
Pour in the sake, mirin, and braising water and mix evenly.
Keep the pot at medium heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until even the firm cabbage ribs reach the desired tenderness.
- 4Season
Mix the soy sauce and concentrated kombu sauce before adding them to the pot.
Turn the cabbage through the broth and cook for 1 more minute so the seasoning reaches both leaves and ribs.
- 5Finish
Add the drained mochi and gently turn everything from the bottom with a spatula.
Once the rice cakes are hot again and coated with cabbage and broth, turn off the heat, divide between two bowls, and serve at once.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Rectangular mochi boils for about two minutes until pliable through the center.
- Finish cue
- Stir-fry the cabbage quickly for 1 to 2 minutes, until the edges look glossy and the outer leaves begin to wilt.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
25min, 8 ingredients
Category median
30min, 8 ingredients
Based on 162 recipes
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