Chi Chi Dango Mochi

Gather the ingredients.

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 F. In a large bowl, sift the mochiko, sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and water. Add vanilla and mix well. 

Using a hand mixer, slowly add dry ingredients a bit at a time to the wet ingredients, mixing until well blended.

Add a couple of drops of food coloring at a time to the batter, and mix. Add more food coloring and continue to mix until the desired color is achieved.

Grease a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish with cooing spray, then pour mixture into dish.

Cover pan with foil, sealing completely.

Bake until the mixture is solid but still sticky in the center. The edges of the dish might appear slightly hard and over-baked, while center of the dish will appear moist, about 1 hour.

Remove foil, and allow mochi to cool completely.

Dust a clean flat surface, such as a cutting board, with the potato starch. Using a knife, cut the edges away from the pan if it hasn’t separated from the dish during baking. Turn the baking dish out onto the surface. You might need to use a metal spatula to scrape the mochi out.

Using a knife also coated with starch, cut mochi into small, bite-sized cubes, about 1-inch x 2-inches (you may also cut mochi straight from the baking dish, but we've found that the mochi pieces tend to stick together).

Roll bite-sized pieces of mochi in potato starch, and dust off excess before serving.