Nevermind the fact that I’ve been in the business of advertising for 6 years– tell a girl that something has “limited” availability and any sense of reason simply vanishes. Such was the case a few Saturdays ago when an innocent and wide-eyed tourist (me) was instantly convinced that fruit-filled mochi was the only thing worth having at a food market literally teeming with culinary options.
The KCC Farmer’s Market was on our agenda from the second I booked my plane ticket to Honolulu, Hawaii. C had already been and told me all about it– we couldn’t stop chattering about all the things we had to eat together– the pesto-mac pizza, the ginger-fizz cooler, the lumpias, fried green tomatoes, corn– the options were overwhelming. I couldn’t get over C’s claims that KCC put Union Square Greenmarket to shame– a bold statment for a girl who rarely disaparages anything associated with NYC. I was beyond intrigued.
When we finally arrived and saw the masses of people moving from tent to tent, I started panicking– where would we start? What should we eat? Is everything gone? It was only 9:30 AM, and I’m not used to having such a strong sense of urgency on a Saturday morning. In any case, we decided to simply follow our vision…and sense of smell…the former kicked in first when C spotted the mochi table and remembered reading about the famous Fresh Strawberry Mochi– the one that’s oh-so-hard to get, made in limited quanties for the Saturday morning KCC crowd, the one that we just HAD to try because if we missed out I’d have to wait until my next visit to have it which may not be for another year and oh my god I hope we’re not too late. There were 2 containers left, 2 mochis in each, and we each got one.
Good god, Fresh Strawberry Mochi…how can I describe this joyful little pouch…this little bundle of heaven…let me count the ways:
Surrounding mochi: chewy, velvety, pillowy, so pleasantly pliant
Azuki bean layer: chocolate-hued bite of perfectly pasted sweet bean bliss
Fresh strawberry center: ruby-colored fruit gem, sweet, juicy, the f-in jackpot
The verdict: I felt powerful for having gotten it before it ran out, and pity for those who hadn’t. It was the perfect thing to eat at 9:30AM in a tropical paradise.
Oh, and P.S. Cherry tomatoes from KCC make a great beach snack:
Mmm… just reading about your post brought me back to that magical day when we first tasted the strawberry mochi together. I tried a few other flavors from that mochi shop afterwards, but nothing beats that amazing strawberry mochi. Looking forward to the next time we can enjoy the best mochi in the world together again.. Aloha~
mother of … holy WOW. the red bean squeezing its way out around the juicy strawberry–that looks simply to-die-for.
how big is that thing, anyway?! looks like the size of your fist!
farmer’s market, then the beach? i’m sooo jealous 🙂
Wow! I never knew there is a mochi with fruit in it instead of only red beans. How creative! Red strawberry surrounded by chocolate color red beans inside of chewy white mochi. Looks so beautiful and I am sure it tastes heaven too. Why didn’t I think of that before!!!!!!!