mochi

/ˈmoʊtʃi/

Other forms: mochis

Mochi is a Japanese food that's made from short-grain, sticky rice. Soft, chewy, and stretchy, mochi is commonly used to make sweets, like red bean paste or ice cream inside a mochi covering.

Traditionally, mochi is made by cooking rice and then pounding it in a large mortar with a heavy, wooden pestle. The sticky result is cut into small cakes. Today, most mochi is prepared from a rice flour that's cooked with water. As well as desserts, mochi is made into tasty dumplings, toasted and added to savory dishes, and even heated in a special waffle iron to make "moffles."

Definitions of mochi

1. noun

   a sticky rice steamed and pounded into paste, used in Japanese cuisine
2. noun

   a Japanese cake made from steamed and pounded sticky rice