I have tried a variety of recipes for making mochi, the Japanese rice cake. Often, the microwave recipes create something closer to superglue than food, so I use the oven now. However, I find that my mochi cooks somewhat unevenly.

When it does cook evenly, and I like it, I find that it quickly dries out.

Have any of you made mochi at home? How did you do it? Afterwards, how did you store it to retain maximum squishiness?