Genetically Modified Taste Buds

Do you ever wonder what makes a person love or hate a particular kind of food so much? Is it a strictly chemical reaction, our genes, a stigma attached to that food (i.e. insects or frog’s legs), or some combination of all of these?

I think our food preferences are a mixture of nature and nurture.  I have grown to love many of the foods I disliked as a child, but I don’t think I will never get over my aversion to coconut – something my mother says that I inherited from my dad. Actually, nobody on my dad’s side of the family likes coconut.

In November, I visited the aforementioned clan of coconut haters in Taiwan. My aunt was delighted to learn that many of my favorite foods were also her favorites. She exclaimed that it was proof that we were related; it was our blood that made us love red bean, black sesame, and cabbage so much.

Red bean is one of my favorite foods; I would gladly eat it by the spoonful. So would my aunt. And on this trip, I found out that my grandmother loves it, too. She can’t eat a lot of solid foods anymore, but I was happy to see that one of the few edible treats she can still enjoy (in moderation) is red bean mochi — a dessert made from sweet rice flour. It’s soft enough for her to mash between her gums, and she likes sucking on it like candy.

I won’t ever have the privilege of having a traditional, warm-fuzzies relationship with my grandma. I can’t even share a direct conversation with her, since we don’t speak the same language. But when my aunt told her how much I, too, love red bean, my grandma looked over at me with a sweet smile of recognition on her face. I felt closer to her in that moment than ever before.

I know it’s strange, but that day, I felt proud of myself for loving red bean; it was like my taste buds had passed some sort of genetic test with flying colors. Such is the power of food. Which leads us back to the original question: Are our culinary preferences passed down from one generation to the next? I don’t know. But does it really matter? Not really.

Still, if you like mochi, perhaps the chances are high that your family members will like it too. In Taiwan, it’s fairly easy to find street vendors who make mochi from scratch. However, here in America, I’ve noticed that packages of red bean mochi in Asian supermarkets often contain preservatives, since they were shipped from elsewhere.

Avoiding preservatives is always a plus. It’s actually fairly simple to make mochi from scratch. Traditionally, mochi is steamed, but I love the fact that you can make such a seemingly impressive dessert in the microwave.

Red bean mochi - from the microwave.

5-minute Microwavable Mochi

Ingredients
3/4 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko flour)
3/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/4 cup sugar (optional – feel free to omit if you’re going to fill the mochi with sweet red bean paste)
Corn starch, for rolling out the dough
a plastic knife

Directions
Combine all the ingredients except tapioca/corn starch in a microwavable bowl; stir until smooth. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes on high. While that’s happening, sprinkle a generous layer of corn starch on a cutting board or other clean surface. When the mochi is finished heating, it will be opaque and sticky. It shouldn’t be runny at all.

Remove the bowl from the microwave carefully with a towel or oven mitt, since it will be hot. Undo the plastic wrap, being careful to avoid the hot steam as it escapes.

Use a spoon to scoop the mochi onto the prepared cutting board. It will be extremely sticky. Don’t panic if you can’t get it off the spoon. Just do your best. Corn starch will be your new best friend for the next few minutes. Make sure to coat your fingers with it before attempting to handle the monstrously sticky mochi. Cut it into manageable chunks with a plastic knife (amazingly, the mochi doesn’t seem to stick to the plastic much, and it gives a clean cut). You can either eat it like this, on top of ice cream or frozen yogurt (a la Pinkberry), or you can make red bean mochi.

Sweetened red bean paste is basically made by cooking red beans until tender, and then mashing them with sugar into a smooth, thick paste that is similar to the texture of refried beans. You can buy it at the Japanese market, packaged either in a pouch or tin can. I prefer the pouch because if you don’t finish the package, you can store the rest in the fridge. (Hint: It’s surprisingly delicious in oatmeal.)

To make the red bean mochi, simply squeeze some red bean paste onto a flat disc of mochi dough (it’s OK if it’s coated with corn starch) and shape the dough around the filling to form an enclosed ball – kind of like wrapping a dumpling. Unfortunately, you may find that your fingers will get slightly scathed from handling the hot mochi, but it’s easier to shape the dough before it gets too cool. The mochi can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.