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After I die, I’d like to be remembered for a recipe. As I’m not likely to be known for a stunning act of heroism, or brilliant leadership, or making wads of money, I will settle for a legacy of yum — one special dish that will force my children to think of me whenever they make it, a recipe they can pass to their children, and so on. Better start working on that.
Karen Chang had one of those to remember her mother, Beatrice Yuki Sugahara Kimoto. It was mochi made with macadamia nuts that baked so the nuts floated on top.
“I have somehow managed to misplace the recipe, and am now in a depressed state since no one else in my family has it,” she wrote.
The recipe was distinctive in that it used powdered milk and a powdered haupia mix. With those clues, my cookbook partner (and the hero of this story), Muriel Miura, found it among her 125-plus mochi recipes. It was the only one that even came close.
Chang tried it out and pronounced it a match. Mission accomplished.
But back to the woman who inspired this search. Chang remembers her mother as an accomplished cook, baker, seamstress and gardener. “She had a wonderful passion and outlook on life, which is why she was very special.”
Kimoto had to give up many of her favorite activities in her 70s when she lost her eyesight to glaucoma, but held on to her upbeat attitude, Chang says. “Although she has been gone for 13 years now, we all continue to miss her, but the many wonderful memories we have of her always put a smile on our faces.”
Memories, and this very special recipe.
MAC-NUT MOCHI
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup margarine
2-1/2 cups sugar
2 pounds mochiko
1/2 cup powdered milk (Kimoto used Milkman brand)
2 (2-ounce) packages powdered haupia mix (the Noh brand is called Haupia Luau Dessert and often sold near the Jell-O in supermarkets)
6 cups water
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut (optional; Chang does not use this)
Potato starch or cornstarch, to dust
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
Cream butter, margarine and sugar in large mixing bowl. Add mochiko, powdered milk and haupia mix. Slowly add water. Mix until smooth. Fold in nuts and coconut, if using. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour.
Cool completely, then cut into pieces using a plastic knife. Dust with potato or cornstarch to prevent sticking.
Nutritional information unavailable.
NEXT WEEK, ANOTHER MYSTERY SOLVED
Chang’s request was one of many published last week in a New Year’s call for help solving some of my more stubborn recipe mysteries. Thanks to the many readers who already have responded.
Several came up with a 1980s-era recipe for brownies with a cream cheese swirl, in response to one reader’s search for a beloved recipe that had gone missing. Look for it in this space next week.
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Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Email Betty Shimabukuro at bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.
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