Tochigi Yakimochi Leftover Rice Cakes

Name: Tochigi Yakimochi Leftover Rice Cakes
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: leftover cooked rice 200 g; water for soaking rice 1000 ml; wheat flour 150 g; boiled corn kernels 100 g; young sand lance 50 g; water for blanching fish 500 ml; aonori flakes 2 tbsp; sesame seeds 2 tbsp; miso 50 g; cooking oil 0.5 tbsp

Quick answer

Total time: 40 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 10

About this dish

In Tochigi, leftover rice gets a second life: soaked in water, kneaded with flour and miso along with corn, kounago (tiny sand lance fish), aonori seaweed and toasted sesame, then pan-cooked into thick oval cakes.

The outside turns lightly browned and firm while the center stays chewy, somewhere between a rice cake and a savory pancake. Drain the soaked rice too thoroughly and it will not bind with the flour, leaving cakes that crumble while shaping.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

leftover cooked rice

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water for soaking rice

water for blanching fish

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Instructions

5 steps

1

Soak 200g leftover cooked rice in 1000ml rice-soaking water for 10 minutes.

Drain lightly in a sieve only until water no longer drips, leaving moisture on the surface of the grains.
2

Bring 500ml fish-blanching water to a boil, blanch 50g young sand lance for 30 seconds, and drain thoroughly.

Toast 2 tablespoons sesame seeds in a dry skillet over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring until fragrant, then remove from the heat.
3

Combine the soaked rice, 150g wheat flour, 100g boiled corn, blanched sand lance, 2 tablespoons aonori, toasted sesame, and 50g miso in a large bowl. Knead by hand for 5 minutes, until the rice and flour form one mass that does not fall apart.
4

Divide the mixture into 8 portions, compress each firmly between the palms, and shape into ovals about 9cm long and 1.5cm thick.

Press any cracked edges smooth so the cakes hold together.
5

Coat a skillet thinly with 0.5 tablespoon cooking oil and preheat over medium-low heat for 1 minute.

Add the cakes without overlap, cook the first side for 5 to 6 minutes, turn, and cook 5 minutes more. Move the pan occasionally and remove when both sides are lightly browned and the centers are hot.