Instructions: A recent transplant to the Bay Area, I am still getting used to the integration of Asian foods into mainstream markets. Soy sauce and vinegar I quickly grew to expect. But the box of mochiko, Japanese glutinous rice flour, took me by surprise.

The mochiko at the Santa Clara Kmart also reminded me of my favorite use for it - to make the sweetened confection known as mochi (MOE-chee).

The terminology can be confusing. Unsweetened mochi - pounded glutinous rice cakes - are a Japanese traditional New Years food and decoration.

But the sweet treats that are also called mochi (or sometimes manju) are eaten throughout the year with sustained enthusiasm. They are special and festive, holding a status similar to chocolate truffles in Western cultures.

They are frequently seen in the summer at Obon festival bazaars at local Buddhist temples.

Unsweetened mochi have a soft, chewy texture and a mild rice taste, and are tremendously versatile. Mochi can be grilled, boiled, pan-fried, deep-fried or steamed, eaten with condiments such as soy dipping sauces, seaweed, roasted soybean powder, green tea powder or other savory accompaniments. Small balls of mochi can be added to sweet or savory soups, resulting in a more gnocchi-like mochi.

The sweetened version of mochi is made by combining sugar with the rice, then forming it into balls filled with sweet pastes (most commonly red bean paste).

It is eaten as a snack or dessert.

Originally, mochi were made by pounding hot, steamed, glutinous rice (also known as sticky rice or sweet rice, though it isnt sweet) into a smooth paste with a wooden mortar and mallet. This time-consuming and almost unimaginably labor-intensive technique has mostly been replaced with modernized mochi-making machines. Some would argue that the technology created for the automatic mochi machines led to the design of the electronic bread machines so prevalent in kitchens today.

The popularity of mochi has expanded beyond Japanese cuisine into other Asian cultures, with each adapting the mochi to its own palate. Now, glutinous rice balls are a common confection in Chinese, Korean, Filipino and Hawaiian communities, filled with a variety of pastes, including green mung beans, dried lotus seeds, taro, coconut, or black sesame seeds.

Non-traditional mochi can also be found chilled, with mango or green tea ice cream centers (my favorite), or with flavored exterior coatings such as a sweet peanut powder.

Home experiment

Last year, a fellow mochi fan and I decided to try making them at home. This endeavor was hugely unsuccessful, mostly because of our tired arms and impatience in pounding the hot steamed rice. Wed envisioned delicate, sweet, sticky mounds. We got an unmanageable mass that resembled (and tasted like)

lumpy wallpaper paste.

Months later, Jeanne Lan brought homemade mochi to my friends house as a gift. Lan agreed to teach us, and with her secrets explained, making these confections became simple, straightforward, and remarkably easy.

My forearms and triceps will be forever grateful to Lan for showing us the modernized shortcuts, the most valuable one being to use mochiko (which is ground from uncooked glutinous rice) instead of the cooked rice. Her recipe eliminates the need for any special equipment, pounding or kneading of hot, sticky rice, and still results in a remarkably smooth, chewy mochi.

Secrets of success

Some additional tips to help make your mochi-making experience a breeze:

Lightly coat your hands with cornstarch. This will allow you to shape the mochi into smooth rounds (traditional Japanese preparation uses a roasted soybean flour in place of cornstarch; it can be found in Japanese grocery stores).

Prepare the filling in advance and chill slightly before using. This makes the filling firmer and less likely to ooze out when you are trying to seal the mochi ball.

Cover the remaining mochi with a damp, lint-free towel while you are working with each piece. This will keep the mochi warm and malleable.

Use the prepared sweetened red bean paste. You can make your own filling using dried adzuki beans (reconstituted, boiled, mashed with sugar and pressed through a chinois), but the canned paste is infinitely easier and tastes fine.

Keep a wet towel handy and clean as you go. Mochi dries into a hardened gluey substance that is very difficult to clean up.

If you are feeling adventurous, try varying your fillings, using anything from fruit preserves to ground nuts (marzipan comes to mind).

Consider giving a box of homemade mochi instead of a box of chocolates.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.