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The brains behind the Sushirrito chain just hatched a new in-your-face fusion food experience — savory mochi pizza dough topped with traditional and Asian-inspired toppings. Mochiko Mochi Pizza, which recently opened on Lorton Avenue in Burlingame at the food brand’s former Sushirrito location, was years in the making, according to co-founder Peter Yen.
“For a couple of years, Ty and I and our families talked about why there weren’t any Asian-style pizza spots. And even though we thought it would be cool to create a pizza using Asian flavors, we knew we needed to explore the idea further. Around the same time, our families were enjoying mochi desserts and Ty’s wife had a lightbulb moment — why not create a savory mochi crust?” he said.
Co-founder and executive chef Ty Mahler spent several months perfecting the gluten-free dough’s texture, which has crispy edges like a deep-dish pie and a chewy interior like classic mochi desserts. Currently, the pizza comes in one size (18”x4”). The rectangular shape of the pie ensures that each piece has at least two edges. For now, options include pepperoni with tomato jam and mozzarella; mozzarella with tomato jam and garlic chives; spicy pork with spinach, mozzarella and sansho pepper cream sauce; and fried chicken karaage with Japanese curry, mozzarella, jalapeno, corn and cilantro.
Similar to Sushirrito’s unique melding of traditional foods, Mochiko Mochi can be a shock to the senses, but the balance of flavors keeps the experience friendly and surprisingly good. The sweetness from the tomato jam and the heat from the pork is subtle enough so that the crust is the hero of the dish.
As far as Yen knows, this is the only savory baked mochi application. “There’s a savory rice cake stir-fry called nian gao that I enjoyed as a child and a Korean dish, tteokbokki, that uses rice flour as its base, but they aren’t baked,” he explained.
According to Yen, the team had closed the Burlingame Sushirrito location in February due to adjacent ongoing construction and constant street disruptions. Seeing the silver lining in the closed space, they realized that it was the perfect footprint and demographic to try out their new concept.
“This positive shift allowed us to focus on the exciting opportunities ahead and create a fantastic home for Mochiko in Burlingame,” Yen said.
Mochiko Mochi Pizza, 283 Lorton Ave., Burlingame; Instagram: @mochikomochipizza. Open 5-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.