Desserts are many people’s weakness, and many of them love to try out desserts from different cuisines around the world. One delicious cuisine for desserts is Japanese cuisine and gyeongdan vs mochi is the ultimate comparison. This is because these two are the famous desserts of Japanese cuisine and we are sharing how these desserts are different from each other.
Mochi vs Gyeongdan:
Mochi
Mochi is one of the most popular ice creams from Japan, and it has surely taken the world by storm. This is the sweet treat and has taken a unique twist on ice cream that everyone enjoys around the globe. Mochi is the rice ball and has extremely delicious ice cream on the inside, but there is so much more about it. This is because in Japan, this is a type of rice cake, and it gained popularity for its portability. That’s to say because it’s the size of a small matchbox, which is equal to eating the entire rice bowl.
Initially, it was made from red rice, and it was commonly used in various religious rituals, particularly in the Shinto religion. For those who don’t know, mochi was known as the food of the Gods and was known as the symbol of happy marriages and good fortune. As for now, it has become a central part of New Year celebrations in Japan, and this tradition has been around since 794. For this reason, it is commonly available during New Year.
However, over the course of time, various types of mochi have been made in the culinary world, and all of them mean different things. For instance, people in Japan consider it as a sign of good fortune and also represents sustenance because it’s filling. As it comes down to the flavor and texture, mochi is sweet and holds a sticky yet dense texture. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that part of the popularity is caused by the unique delivery process and a plethora of flavors.
As far as the rice cake part is concerned, it is made from short-grain japonica glutinous rice and is mixed with other ingredients, including cornstarch, sugar, and water. The rice is pounded into the paste and is molded in a specific shape. On top of everything, it has a high amylopectin level which gives paste its gel-like consistency. To summarize, it’s pretty easy to make and only needs a few ingredients to create this delicious treat.
Gyeongdan
It is the rice all cake and is made out of glutinous cereal flours and glutinous rice. When the cereal is used in place of rice, it is known as sorghum ball cake. It can be made by kneading the glutinous rice flour into balls sized like chestnut and are boiled in water. Once boiled, these rice cakes are coated with honey and mashed mung beans, and red beans. However, some people also add ground and toasted sesame seeds to the coating.
There are different types of gyeongdan, and gomul is used for improving taste and appearance. This is primarily used for making the rice ball cake appear pretty, but they remain inflexible. In addition, white bean paste is used, and red bean paste is also used, which is known to fight off evil spirits. These are the chewy and round cakes, which include the soft rice dough. The soft rice dough is wrapped around the red bean filling.
Once they are boiled, they have to be coated with different colorful powders, such as ground soybean, black sesame, and mugwort powder. In addition, there is grated tinted coconut for coating these rice cakes. To illustrate, gyeongdan are bite-sized rice cakes, which are pretty popular and are served on different occasions. As far as the red bean paste is concerned, it is sweetened to compliment the sweeter flavors of rice cake.
Gyeongdan is extremely popular in Korean cuisine, and it signifies that red bean paste waves off the devil spirits. This is the prime reason that Koreans and Japanese people love to serve these desserts on special occasions. For the most part, it can be purchased from bakeries of the countries, but it’s pretty easy to make at home as well.
So, which one of these two desserts do you like?