Oh, what the heck? Since I reposted my recipe for sesame seed balls last week, I might as well bring back this old post for regular, non-deep-fried mochi. As long as you can track down a few special ingredients (and don’t mind making a mess), making daifuku is surprisingly easy!
First, a quick note on terminology, courtesy of Wikipedia. “Mochi” is a Japanese cake made of glutinous rice flour, and actually only describes the squishy outer layer of daifuku. Mochi has both sweet and savory applications; stuff it with a sweet filling and a whole strawberry in springtime to make ichigo daifuku, put chunks of it in soup, or make dango and eat it on a stick with savory sauces. Daifuku specifically refers to mochi stuffed with a sweet filling, and that’s what we’re dealing with here.
When I lived in Philly, I made a point to pick up a new flavor of daifuku every time I ended up in Chinatown. My favorite kind was sold across the street from my apartment, which was not great for my bank account. During the summer, I preferred to eat daifuku straight out of the refrigerator, which rendered it cold, firm, heavy, and chewy, and particularly reminiscent of marshmallows in texture.
The traditional way to make mochi is to cook glutinous rice and then pound it with mallets until it assumes the proper texture. As committed as I am to making things completely from scratch, I’m afraid I don’t have the dedication to pull that off. This recipe requires a microwave, so if you’re like me and don’t have one, consider this a fun project to bring to a hungry, understanding friend’s house. I did attempt this recipe on a stove once, but wasn’t able to get the dough to cook evenly. If you happen to know any easy ways to make mochi without a microwave, I’d love to hear about it!
When I researched how to make mochi at home, I encountered a lot of kitchen horror stories that almost scared me off from attempting it altogether. I picked up a bag of glutinous rice flour and eyed it nervously for a couple of weeks, worried I would emerge from my first attempt looking like I’d just lost a battle with a dilophosaurus. Nothing catastrophic has ever come of my mochi-making endeavors, but you do need to work quickly, so I recommend carefully studying the directions before you start!
Finally, feel free to experiment wildly and add any kind of flavorings or fillings you like. Matcha (green tea) powder is sometimes used in mochi, both as a colorant and a flavoring; sweet sesame paste and taro paste can also be used as fillings. Alternatively, you can prepare mochi on a bed of sesame seeds so that they’re coated with seeds rather than starch. Have fun! And for the love of all that is adorable in this world, please go the extra mile and make usagi manju. And then send it to me. We’ll be best friends forever.
- 1-2 cups tapioca, potato, and/or corn starch
- ¼ c sugar
- 1 c glutinous rice flour
- ⅔ c water
- food coloring, optional
- flavoring, optional
- ~9 oz. anko (sweetened azuki bean paste)
- First, you'll need to prepare your work area. Generously sift starch over your work surface.
- Dust a rolling pin, a sharp knife, and a large plate (for the finished mochi) with starch.
- Fill a small bowl with water.
- Portion out 8 1″ balls of anko on a plate for easy use.
- In a microwaveable bowl, stir together rice flour, sugar, and any flavorings.
- Add water and a drop or two of food coloring, if using, and mix well.
- Microwave mixture for 2 minutes*; remove from microwave and stir well with a fork. Depending on your bowl and your microwave, parts of the rice flour may have already cooked and gotten jelly-like before the rest of it. If this happens, just beat the mixture together until it's all the same consistency.
- Microwave again for another 1-2 minutes and beat as necessary. (If you’re splitting the mochi batter to make different colors at the same time, reduce microwave time accordingly.) It should have risen slightly, be thick and gelatinous, and kind of gather into a ball as you stir it. Use this to your advantage and, after dusting your hands with starch, scoop it out onto your work surface. Sprinkle extra starch on top and pat it down; no exposed part of the mochi should be sticky at this point. It’ll be hot, but it shouldn't burn you if you're heedful. The dough does stiffen as it cools, but it doesn’t happen instantaneously. Work fast, but don’t sweat it.
- Roll the dough out into a rough rectangle ½″ thick.
- Slice dough into 8 squares.
- One by one, take a square in the palm of your hand, plop a dollop of anko into the center, and fold the corners up, overlapping slightly to make a seal. Rubbing a little water on the edges of the dough will help them stick together.
- Chill in an airtight container and serve.

11 comments
Veganopoulous says:
Sep 15, 2014
I have always wanted to make my own mochi but never really looked in to it seriously because it seems like such a hard thing for me to get right. But your recipe has eased my mind a lot and I’d love to give this a try. Mochi just rocks 😀
claryn says:
Sep 16, 2014
Do it!!! I really want homemade mochi to become a thing where I live, so that getting offered daifuku at a friend’s house is as common as getting offered cookies.
Wait, scratch that — I love cookies, too. 😉
Metropolis says:
Jul 30, 2016
Hello Veganopoulous, how are you? This is metropolis, I am new to the vegan world and am just starting to learn as to what ingredients are ok to make vegan dishes and which are not. From what I had researched yesterday, we can’t use regular sugar, which is what this recipe calls for, so would raw cane sugar or palm sugar be okay to use with this recipe? I was also thinking as a filling to use the agar agar powder to make coconut jelly with pieces of fresh mango or strawberries in it, using no sugar since the coconut milk has a sweet taste already,then let it set overnight and stuff that in the fresh made mochi’s. Your advice and opinion would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much!
Laura says:
Sep 16, 2014
Need to make this so bad! I have every ingredient except the glutinous rice flour. Any tips on where/what type of rice flour to buy?
Oliver Slay says:
Sep 16, 2014
Chinese/Oriental food shop will have glutinous rice flour..
http://www.souschef.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/g/l/glutinous-rice-flour.jpg
or
http://www.raanthai.co.uk/shop/NRF297lg.jpg
claryn says:
Sep 16, 2014
Yeah, any Asian grocer should have it on hand. It might be also labeled “mochiko.” It’s different from other rice flours in that it’s super high in starch, which is what makes it so sticky!
Laura K says:
Sep 27, 2014
I found the mochiko rice flour when I was in Boston, hurray! I’m making this tonight!
Laura says:
Sep 17, 2014
Crap! I was just at the Asian market a few days ago, saw the mochiko, picked it up and said “I needed this for something, but I can’t remember” and then put it down and didn’t get it. Hmmmm oh noes. It’s a pain to go there sort of. I wonder if I can find it cheap online.
lysette says:
Sep 17, 2014
Ahh, I finally have a day off work to grocery shop and see if I can find glutinous rice flour – if not, the Asian grocery the next city up valley should have it, just need more of an excuse than flour to drive there… hahahha, no I don’t, they have good espresso there too.
Thanks for the recipe, I love that I can basically put any kind of filling in it. The last time I had a mochi ball- from that Asian grocery – it had crunchy peanuts.
C. FRUITY says:
Jan 26, 2015
This one looks challenging but I think it’s worth a try! I loved those ice cream filled mochi balls that I got on my vacation to Hawaii and I would love to fill them with something healthy and delicious.
Shanny says:
Apr 18, 2015
Looks amazing! Do you happen to know if all the dyes used to color mochi are vegan? Especially the pink colored tones. Thanks!