Moche — Philippines

Moche, also spelled mochi or muchi and known as mutsi in Kapampangan, is a Filipino sweet from Pampanga made of glutinous rice balls filled with a paste of mung or red beans, sometimes enriched with caramelized grated coconut known as bukayo. The dough is prepared from galapong, ground and soaked glutinous rice, shaped by hand into balls or ovals around the filling. It is reported from Pampanga in the Philippines, where it belongs to a small group of related rice-ball sweets that also includes the Tagalog mache and the Cebuano masi, each associated with its own region. To prepare moche, the filled dough is dropped into boiling water and cooked until the balls rise to the surface, showing that the dough is done, then drained and sprinkled with sesame seeds or crushed peanuts. A sauce of sweetened coconut milk, called gata, is warmed separately and poured over the balls just before serving. Despite the resemblance in name and ingredients, moche is understood locally as distinct from the Japanese mochi and the Ryukyuan muchi, tracing instead to buchi, the Chinese-Filipino version of jian dui; unlike buchi, its surface is left unbrowned, and it is finished with the sesame or peanut topping and coconut sauce rather than a fried, sugar-crusted exterior.