Gohei-Mochi (Grilled Rice Cake with Walnut Miso)

Quick answer

Total time: 80 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 9

About this dish

Gohei-mochi is an Aichi mountain-region rice cake made by mashing freshly cooked non-glutinous rice, molding it around a broad skewer, and grilling it with a red miso sauce ground with walnuts and sesame.

The hot rice is crushed until sticky enough to hold together while some grain texture remains. Each portion is spread into a thin oval and given shallow surface ridges, then grilled without sauce first so the center heats through and the coating has places to cling. Red miso, sugar, sake, ginger, walnuts, and sesame are kneaded over low heat into a thick sauce, brushed on, and grilled again until fragrant and browned. The food is said to have been eaten in the Chubu mountains by the middle Edo period. Lumberjacks and hunters prepared it before Yama no Ko gatherings that prayed for safety in mountain work; today it is also a common travel snack.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
Japanese short-grain rice	2	cup
water for cooking the rice	2.2	cup
broad skewers	4	piece
red miso	50	g
sugar	75	g
sake	1	tsp
walnuts	8	g
sesame seeds	5	g
grated ginger	0.25	tsp

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Heat

Wash the rice, soak it in the measured cooking water for 30 minutes, and cook.

After the rice has rested, transfer it immediately to a wide bowl while still hot.
2

Step

Mash the hot rice with a pestle or sturdy paddle until some grains remain but the mass is sticky enough to hold together.

Divide into four portions before it cools too much.
3

Step

Lightly wet your hands and press each rice portion firmly around a broad skewer in a thin oval.

Keep the thickness even so the center heats through, and make shallow waves on the surface with a finger.
4

Control

Grind the walnuts and sesame finely in a mortar.

Blend in the red miso, sugar, and sake, add the grated ginger, then transfer to a small pan and stir over low heat until thick and smooth.
5

Control

Preheat a fish grill or skillet over medium heat.

Grill the rice cakes without sauce until both sides are light brown and the centers are hot. Keep the exposed skewer ends away from direct flame.
6

Finish

Brush both sides of each grilled rice cake evenly with the miso sauce.

Return to low heat and watch closely so the sugary coating does not burn; serve as soon as the surface is glossy and deeply browned.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Fresh non-glutinous rice is partly mashed and spread thinly around broad skewers.
Finish cue: Return to low heat and watch closely so the sugary coating does not burn; serve as soon as the surface is glossy and deeply browned.
Substitution: Shallow surface ridges help the walnut-miso sauce cling instead of running off.