Based on the incomparably delicious and simple Japanese foodgasm that is mochi, this dairy-free hack is heaven on a plate for texture cravings when you need a cheese fix. Confession: the 3 ingredients are rice sticks, oil, & seasonings, but depending on how you make these and your spice cabinet, we could be talking up to 10 ingredients: rice/flour, water, salt, oil, basil, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, and marinara (I like Lidl's Italiamo Cherry Tomato Sauce).
The skinny:
Coat mochi / rice sticks in oil and season with garlic powder, onion powder, basil, salt, and pepper. Toss in an air fryer or convection toaster oven at 425 F for 8-10 minutes. The trick is to get the outside nice and crispy while leaving the inside gooey and stretchy - higher temp for lower time does the job. Pair with your favorite marinara sauce, and you are in vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free, gluten-free additive-free mozzarella stick paradise. I like the flavor provided by sunflower oil, but if you're not vegan, beef tallow adds an amazing cow-flavor dimension even more reminiscent of cheese.
A few points:
premade rice sticks or cakes from your local Asian grocer is going to be your best friend. I prefer the fresh ones, but they can also be found in the refrigerated section, though often with preservatives.
if you don't have access to this, mochi can be made at home with sweet rice flour (mochiko), or if you really love the kitchen, by pounding rice, or steaming sticky rice cakes. Form into sticks and boil.
if you don't have an air fryer or toaster convection oven, you can deep fry or pan-fry on the stove.
the difference between the premade/air fryer version and the homemade/pan frying version for me, is literally 2-3 hours. The easy way is done in 10 minutes. Do the easy way!!!
coating homemade mochi in arrowroot or tapioca starch can help prevent sticking - it's very, very sticky. A silicone mat is recommended for handling.
if you bake too long, it will get crispy on the inside, which will deprive you of the gooey cheese experience, but does make a delicious breadstick.
The deets:
I was lazily developing this recipe for years after I fried homemade mochi one day in a jar of EPIC beef tallow I happened to find in a grocery outlet (no way I could have afforded it otherwise). That moment changed my dairy-free, soy-free, cheese-free little life. I was the kid who ordered the exact same thing every time I went to a restaurant: grilled cheese. When my grandpa started taking us out to the American Legion for dinner and I discovered mozzarella sticks, I ordered grilled cheese with a side of mozzarella sticks 😂 (Shout out to Grrrraaandpaaa, heaven's newest resident this week, at the ripe old age of 96. ❤️) Point being, I LOVED CHEESE.
Until my life fell apart and dairy set my brain on fire and turned me into Satan. So when I got the mouth-feel of a hot crunchy-gooey-savory mozzarella stick after 5 years of cheese abstinence, I was HOOKED!
Just one problem: mochi is a MESS to make. If it's part of your tradition and culture, I imagine you can do it relatively clean and easy and with a bit of happy relaxed nostalgia (maybe not?) But for a chronically fatigued Lymie with a chronically dirty kitchen, it was a real project for me. The first time, on a real-food-only kick, I tried making it the REAL way: pounding actual cooked rice! It was brutal. My fibromyalgic little arms hurt for years after, and it was a lumpy sad mess. I succumbed to the "processed" sweet rice flour version thereafter, and after boiling, I would coat with arrowroot starch, and twist individual portions in plastic wrap for the freezer.
I learned about mochi from Paul Pitchford's "Healing with Whole Foods", and though I've never had the commercial versions with sugar, preservatives, colorings, or ice cream, I'm obsessed with the plain version swimming in a hot bowl of soup.
Thus, "mochi-rella sticks" became an occasional naughty treat for me, much spoiled by the work and the clean-up that came with it. And then * cue the angels singing * I discovered H-Mart and Lotte Plaza, two Asian grocery chains with abundant presence in my B-more/DC corridor, which offer fresh-made and preservative-free rice sticks and cakes.
Then when my toaster oven bit the dust, I discovered the toaster oven/air fryer combo (and found out that a toaster oven using a convection setting is the same thing as an air fryer!) and my 3-hour kitchen disaster turned into a 10-minute breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, any-time mozzarellic bliss fest. (*disclaimer: I gained 10 pounds in the last year. I blame 90% on breaking my ankle and 10% on eating too much mochi.)
A few more points:
I was several years off cheese when I began to make mochirella. If you are new to dairy-free, this may not taste anything like cheese to you. For me, the combination of texture and associated Italian spices and marinara flavors hits the spot.
As mentioned, using beef tallow as your frying oil will enhance the "cheese" flavor
nutritional yeast is one way people add cheese flavor to vegan recipes; I don't use the stuff, but give it a shot if you're making homemade mochi and don't mind the extra activity in your GI tract / leaky gut.
this post contains references to products and methods I used, but are not monetized, partnered, nor do I receive any compensation from this post.
sorry I can no longer link an easy printable PDF recipe - complain to Wix about that