Mochi is a sweet rice cake that is often found in various parts of Asia. The base is made with glutinous rice flour to give it a sticky, chewy texture that is absolutely addicting. The most common fillings are red bean, black sesame and even ice cream.

While mochi is most often thought of as a Japanese dessert, but mochi in Hong Kong  is also considered a local treat / delicacy that tourist often flock to try: Mango mochi. This is an entire slice of sweet tropical mango stuffed in a thin sticky rice dough. You can find them across the island, although the best ones are those skillfully made so that the skin is thin and light. I’ve also seen variations of this now with durian fruit (a pungent southeast asian fruit), slices of sweet potato, center of creamy chocolate…

Although I’ve always been a cheesecake, chocolate cake kind of girl but in recent years, I’ve found that I’ve really learnt to love that sticky, sweet combination. After having left my home for many years and not being able to return to the area during COVID, my appreciation and love for my heritage and food from my country has blossomed. My love for this treat extends beyond just traditional mochi – traditional Chinese tangyang (boiled sticky rice balls stuffed with sweet peanut or black sesame in ginger soup), Teochew style muah chee (steamed pillows of rice dough covered in peanut and sugar), Singaporean kueh (steamed cake often with layers), chinese style “crystal” bun stuffed with lotus seed paste or red bean and much more. I attribute this newfound love to my mother whom I have inherited my sweettooth from. It’s also a wonderful connection I have with my mother-in-law, who too, truely appreciates the same kind of textures and flavors. Its amazing how food can really bring people together in relatable ways.

Today we are truly embracing the “fusion” cuisine and making something less similar to some of the treats I’ve listed above and instead, more similar to the well-loved banana bread. We have plenty of banana bread recipes on the blog, but this one is a unique one! It has all the flavors and even the look of banana bread, but the texture resembles a sticky, cake like mochi. The sweetened coconut adds another fragrant, tropical hit to really draw on the southeast asian influences. While it sounds a little strange, this is definitely an interesting bite sized treat that is a great snack. I love that this is a one pan dessert as well and naturally gluten free since it utilizes glutinous rice flour!

Mochi Banana Bread

 

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Author: Unconventional Cooks

Serves: 9-10 mini squares

Ingredients

• 2 medium ripe bananas, 220g
• 1 cup + 6 tbsp glutinous rice flour - Chinese brand; not mochiko flour
• 2 tbsp sweetener (granulated or maple syrup), or more if you have a sweet tooth
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Sweetened coconut topping:
• 4 tbsp desiccated coconut
• 1.5 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Mix all the ingredients for the batter up to the vanilla together until well combined.
3. Prepare a loaf pan by greasing it.
4. Mix together coconut and sweetener and coconut. Evenly distribute on top of the batter.
5. Bake for 25 -30 mins or until done (Check by sticking in a toothpick/knife - it should come out clean).

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 10 Calories: 134.9 Fat: 2.4g Carbohydrates: 26g Protein: 2.9g

3.5.3251

LOVE,

Zoe, Mia & Raena