When I was 17, a friend who grew up in Hawaii shared his favorite memories with me. One involved drinking canned passion-orange-guava juice. Our conversation, although years later, stirred up that fond memory, and he made me promise to bring him a can when I visited him in Oregon. Nowadays, Hawaiian Sun canned drinks are available in many places in the U.S., but at the time they weren’t easily accessible. He treated my gift of POG like gold.

We locals take pride in our favorite common foods. We connect over li hing mui, saimin and canned juice. Voting for the best Spam musubi is not taken lightly. These are the flavors that bind us.

Though it is universally enjoyed here, I had never eaten chichi dango before I came to Hawaii. In my experience, mochi was always filled with red bean paste, dusted with kinako (roasted soybean flour) or grilled until toasty. Chichi dango is sweet and soft, more about texture than taste.

The simplicity of this mochi appeals to just about everyone (especially those who eat gluten-free). It’s also incredibly easy to make. The most troublesome part of preparing it is cutting and dusting the pieces after you’ve baked them.

Remembering my old friend, I created a POG-flavored mochi and was thrilled that it delighted everyone who tried it.

For this recipe, use concentrated puree if possible. But if that’s hard to get, use canned juice, with 1/2 cup less sugar and skip the 3/4 cup water. The flavor won’t be quite as intense, but it will still be good. I found guava puree in the freezer section at Foodland, and I usually keep foraged lilikoi puree in the freezer.

POG CHICHI DANGO

• 1 pound mochiko flour (found in Asian aisles in supermarkets)
• 2-1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
• 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
• 1/2 cup lilikoi puree
• 1/2 cup guava puree
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup tapioca flour, plus more as needed for dusting

Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a glass 9-by-13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl (it should be bigger than you think you’ll need, to make stirring easier), whisk dry ingredients .

Add coconut milk, juice concentrate, purees and water. Whisk vigorously, until there are no obvious lumps. Pour batter into prepared pan. With nonstick spray, coat one side of a large piece of foil and cover pan.

Bake 1 hour. When done, place pan on a rack to cool. Remove foil.

When pan is cool to the touch (about 2 hours), cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature at least 6 hours or overnight (better). (You can technically skip the extended wait, but the edges of the mochi will soften after sitting and the whole thing will be easier to work with.)

Dust a flat surface with tapioca flour and turn the pan upside down over it to release the mochi. If it seems to be sticking to the pan, use a rubber spatula to loosen the edges before turning it over.

Dust the top of the mochi with a sprinkle of tapioca flour and cut a vertical strip off one side with a large, sharp knife. Flour newly exposed edges so they don’t glue back together. Cut the strip into 1- or 2-bite pieces. Pat each piece to remove excess flour, then move to a plate or container.

Eat immediately or store in a covered container for a couple of days. Do not refrigerate, or mochi will dry out and harden. Makes about 4 dozen pieces.

If you are giving mochi to friends, you can wrap the pieces in wax paper and secure them by twisting, like a piece of candy.

Nutritional information unavailable.

Mariko Jackson blogs about family and food at thelittlefoodie.com. Her column runs on the last Wednesday of the month. Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.