Mochi Recipe

5 from 13 votes

This Mochi Recipe is a sweet and chewy Japanese dessert! Made with custard wrapped in glutinous rice cake, it is a treat you won't be able to resist. While it's traditionally eaten around the Japanese New Year, the sweet treat can be enjoyed at any time of the year!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Japanese

Diet Halal, Hindu, Vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 15

Total Time 1 45

Servings

Calories 169kcal

Author Ashley Amundsen

Ingredients

Custard

1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 egg yolks
3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Mochi

1 cup Mochiko sweet rice flour (affiliate link)
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup water
yellow food coloring
potato starch or cornstarch

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add the milk to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat to boiling. Slowly whisk in the flour, egg yolks, sugar, and salt.
1 cup milk, 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 4 egg yolks, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon salt
Heat on low heat until bubbling and thick, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla extract.
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Pour the custard through a mesh sieve to remove any clumps. Let the custard cool.
Scoop custard into a frosting bag and pipe onto a cookie sheet into 8 dollops. Freeze for one hour.
Add sweet rice flour, sugar, salt, water, and a few drops of food coloring to a microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap.
1 cup Mochiko sweet rice flour, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup water, yellow food coloring
Microwave for 1 minute, remove plastic, then stir. It will not be smooth after stirring it.
Replace the plastic wrap and continue microwaving for 1-minute intervals until mochi has a translucent quality and feels gummy. This usually takes 3-4 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, enough to handle with your hands.
Place the mochi on a cutting board, generously coated in potato starch.
potato starch or cornstarch
Sprinkle potato starch on top of the ball of mochi. Shape the mochi into a half-inch thick disk.
Using a knife or bench cutter, divide the mochi into eight pieces.
Coat your hands with potato starch and roll each piece of mochi into a ball. Using your hands, flatten each ball into a disk.
Grab a mochi disk and place a ball of frozen custard in the middle.
Fold over the opposite sides of the mochi disk over the custard ball.
Pinch the other two remaining sides of the disk over the custard ball.
Continue pinching the sides of the mochi gently until the custard is completely wrapped. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Storage Information: I highly recommend eating the mochi while it's fresh, but it can be stored in the refrigerator for two days or in the freezer for two weeks.

2. Dry Mochi: If the mochi tends to get dry while you're working with it, you can place it in the microwave for a couple of seconds until it's easier to work with.

3. Customizations: This recipe can easily be made with a variety of different fillings. Some popular mochi fillings include red bean paste (anko), white bean paste (shiroan), ice cream, custard, strawberries, and even cookie dough!

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