An Easy Way to Make Mochi for the New Year

Rev. Jiko demonstrates a simple method of making mochi using a blender and a microwave oven. She talks about the Japanese New Year tradition of making a "kagami" mochi offering and about the significance of eating mochi at the time of the New Year.
Here's the recipe:
Unlike other microwave mochi recipes, this one does not use sugar. This recipe makes about 8-10 small mochi or 1 two-piece set of Kagami mochi.
1 1/2 cups mochi gome (short grain sweet mochi rice)
1 cup water
1/4 cup katakuriko (potato starch) - may use cornstarch if potato starch is not available
Wash mochi rice in a bowl or colander. Drain. Add 1 cup water and soak for at least 4 hours (or overnight). Pour rice and water into a high-powered blender. Blend on high speed for 3 minutes or until mixture is smooth and liquefied.
Pour liquefied rice into a microwaveable dish or bowl sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for about 4 minutes on HIGH. Let mochi sit inside oven for 3 more minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with water.
On a cutting board covered with parchment paper, spread a layer of katakuriko (potato starch) to prevent sticking. Transfer mochi to board & roll in potato starch. Dust your hands with potato starch and shape the mochi into a log. Pinch off pieces of mochi and shape into rounds.
Now you have fresh mochi for your New Year’s Day ozoni soup, or to fry and eat rolled in a mixture of kinako (roasted soybean flour) and sugar, or a mixture of shoyu and sugar. Fried mochi is also good topped with grated daikon, bonito fish flakes (katsuobushi), green onions, and shoyu. You may also fill or top your freshly-made mochi with"anko" (azuki bean paste). Mochi freezes well.
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