Have you ever had dduk?

 (More commonly known in the Western world by its Japanese name, mochi.)

Dduk are rice cakes.
They can be sweet or savory, baked or pan-fried or shaped or steamed.
They come in all sorts of pretty colors and delicious flavors.
Some come with sweet adzuki bean filling, some rolled in sesame seeds or honey or dried beans.
They are made with glutinous rice flour (A misnomer, as it is gluten-free.), which is the flour which comes from sticky, short grained rice.
Dduk are soft, squishy, with a pleasantly chewy texture.  There is no other food I have encountered with quite the same mouthfeel as “mochi”.
They are velvety but marvelously toothsome: a real joy to bite into!
They are, in short, delectable!
Sorry to shout, I’m just so excited!
And so happy to be sharing these adorable little confections with you!

Mochi!!!

Dduk/mochi are very easy to make.  Hello, bonus!  Even if they were incredibly hard to prepare, I don’t think I could stay away.

They can even be made in the microwave, a method that is tried and true and super quick.  I have encountered many problems in the past using this method, however, because the mixture is so hot when it comes out of the microwave that it burns your hands when you try to shape it, and if you let it cool, it will be stuck in place forever.
It is entirely possible to use the microwave to make less-than-perfect mochi, but I wanted some clean photos and non-burned hands, thankyouverymuch.

So this time, when inspiration struck me to make a coconut-flavored version, I knew I had to try a different method of cooking the batter.
I discovered, after some online perusing, that they can be easily baked up and then cut into perfect little cubes: just the uniformity I was previously lacking.
It is the simplest recipe; mix three ingredients together, pour into a greased pan, and bake for one hour.  The coconut flavor really shines in these dduk, and although I didn’t dye them, they turned out a lovely cream color.

Go make these!  They’re so easy!  And delicious!
Wait!  Why did I eat all of mine so quickly?!
Oh! I am sad.  And mochi-less.
Now to remedy that…
[insert cheesy Japanese emoji here] (^.^)y

Coconut Dduk
ingredients:
300 grams of sugar
240 grams of glutinous rice flour (found at most grocery stores, and at all Asian markets)
1 can of coconut milk, plus enough water or milk to bring to 2 full cups of liquid
cornstarch, for dusting (have plenty on hand!)
directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9 by 13 or similarly sized pan.
Stir your sugar and flour together, then add in your liquid and mix vigorously to combine.  The mixture should be nice and smooth.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour.
Take the dduk out of the oven and allow to cool for just a few minutes; then use a knife, spatula, and determination to pull the entire cake out of the pan.  It will be extremely sticky and it is likely that you will have to do a lot of prying to get it out of the pan in one piece.
Place it on a clean surface which has been dusted with cornstarch.
Cut the dduk however you would like; take note that the edges are extremely crispy and chewy, as is the bottom.
I cut my dduk into rectangles, then trimmed the bottom edge off to make soft, squishy squares.  My mother and I ate all of the crispy edges- I personally love them, but people with delicate dental work will not.
Toss the finished pieces in a little cornstarch, and enjoy!