My son recently asked me, “What is a food that everyone likes? Everyone in the world?” This was part of a discussion about his picky eating. It comes up fairly often at our house. I told him that probably in the case of every food there will be someone who does not like it. He suggested cake as an option, and his siblings informed him there are people who don’t like cake. We know some of them. Strawberries? Ice cream? He was shocked. His 7-year-old eyes nearly popped out of his head when I told him that most people (if not all) do enjoy potatoes, not just as french fries. So he’s one of those people that doesn’t like a food that most people like. We came around to rice being something that nearly everyone likes, even him. It is pleasantly mild, the texture is nice, it’s versatile, and it pairs well with many other flavors. So I think, following that logic, mochi is well-liked by most people. He agreed.

Maybe you’re thinking, I make too much mochi — but is it very different than how many recipes we make using wheat flour? We absolutely need more mochi recipes, with as many varieties as possible. Experimenting with mochiko flour is a common occurrence in my house.

My oldest child actually began the inception of this recipe, but had trouble with it being too sticky, so we tried it again with a few changes. Sticky mochi is a health hazard that is warned about in Japan, so I suggest you make sure it is thoroughly cooked, and chew it well. Butter mochi doesn’t have this problem, but a delicate one like this will be very chewy. If it’s too sticky, it may be undercooked or not yet cooled.

This is similar to chi chi dango in texture rather than butter mochi and is quite nice with the strawberry purée flavor. This would be a great mochi for a filling, maybe a chocolate truffle, if you like that kind of thing.

Strawberry Yogurt Mochi

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups mochiko flour

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

• 3/4 cups strawberry purée (about 8 ounces strawberries)

• 1/4 cups water

• 3/4 cups whole milk yogurt

• Potato starch for cutting

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a square 9-by-9-inch glass pan with cooking spray or rub shortening over the bottom and sides.

In a bowl, whisk together the mochiko, sugar, purée, water and yogurt. Pour into the prepared pan, cover with foil (spray the side facing down with cooking spray), and check it after 60 minutes. Oven temperatures somewhat vary. I ended up cooking mine for 10 minutes longer.

Let cool completely. To cut, prepare a surface (I use a cutting board) with a dusting of potato starch. You need quite a bit. Sprinkle the top with more starch and cut with a knife. Some people swear by using a plastic knife, but I use a sharp chef’s knife dusted in potato starch. I also kind of dip the cut sides in more starch and then lay it out onto a plate or cupcake liners.

This works best when it’s cut in bite sized or twobite pieces.

Makes a 9-by-9-inch pan.

Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.