This is a dessert that I had on the menu at Coi for years. It was the first of three desserts in the tasting menu, and was a small sweet meant to be picked up and eaten with your hands. The original idea was to make a white mochi(using coconut milk) that it would look like a steam bun. We quickly found out people found it to look more like a taco. Inside was a piece of shiso, kiwi, crunchy fried mochi, and a coconut-lime sauce. I have done a few different version of this dessert over the years. I did a black sesame mochi with strawberry, basil, and kumquats, and the version pictured above(coconut, strawberry and shiso). Here is the recipe for the pink taco above along with some variations on the recipe to play around with.

Coconut Mochi

Ingredients:
240 g coconut milk
150 g Mochiko sweet rice flour
120 g sugar

Method:
*to make these pink, replace a portion of the coconut milk with strawberry juice. Mix ingredients and separate into 500g portions. Place 1 portion into a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in microwave for 4-5 minutes. Cool down the dough by immersing in ice water. Work on the table till the dough becomes elastic, and then roll out with rice flour. Let the rolled out mochi sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Punch out circles with ring cutter.

Coconut Sauce

Ingredients:
200 g coconut milk
5 g kudzu starch
50 g lemon Juice

Method:
Dissolve the kudzu starch in the coconut milk, and then bring to a full boil. Pull off the heat and cool down. Once cold, season with lemon juice.

Final Dish

Ingredients:
Coconut mochi
Coconut gel
Sliced fresh strawberry
Shiso

Method:
Spread a small dollop of coconut gel on the surface of the mochi. Place a slice of shiso leaf and a strawberry slice at the edge of the mochi. Fold the mochi over the top to make a taco shape.

Other Variations:

Black Sesame Mochi

Ingredients:

Black Sesame Water:
520 g Water
62 g Toasted black sesame seeds

Mochi Dough:
480 g Black sesame water
300 g Rice flour
240 g Sugar

Method:
For the black sesame water, blend the two together on high for a few minutes. Strain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer and reserve. For the Mochi, mix all ingredients with a whisk and separate into 500g portions. Place 1 portion into a glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in microwave for 4-5 minutes. Cool down the dough by immersing in ice water. Work on the table till the dough becomes elastic, and then roll out with rice flour. Let the rolled out mochi sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Punch out circles with ring cutter.