Mochi Recipes

ICE CREAM MOCHI

Steps:

• Line cupcake liners in a mini muffin pan. With a cookie dough scoop, scoop out ice cream onto the liners. Keep in freezer until solid, about 1 hour.
• In a large microwave-safe mixing bowl, sift glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and sugar together. Add water and whisk mixture until well incorporated.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap leaving a small opening uncovered. Heat the mixture on high in the microwave for 1 1/2 minute.
• Take it out and stir with a wet silicone spatula. Cover the bowl and heat on high for another 1 minute. Again, stir with a wet spatula and heat mixture for a final 30 seconds or until the mixture is cooked through. It'll be slightly translucent when the flour is cooked.
• Wrap the mochi dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cooled.
• Dust the surface of a parchment paper with potato starch and place the cooled mochi dough on top and dust off with more potato starch. With a rolling pin, roll the mochi dough until it's about 3/8-inch thick.
• Cut mochi dough with a large round cookie cutter, dust off excess starch. Place each mochi dough on a small piece of plastic wrap and repeat with the remaining cut-out dough.
• Place a scoop of prepared ice cream onto a mochi dough round, wrap the ice cream and seal the edges. Wrap each with the plastic wrap and place back into the muffin pan and chill in the freezer for 30 minutes, or until ready to serve. Enjoy!

SWEET MOCHI WITH RED BEAN FILLING

Steps:

• Make the filling: Rinse the beans and transfer to a large pot. Cover the beans with water and bring to a boil; drain. Cover the beans again with water and this time simmer until they are completely tender, about an hour to an hour and a half, adding more water if necessary to keep the beans submerged. Drain.
• Purée the drained beans in a food processor or blender to make a smooth paste. If the beans are too dry to catch the blades, add a few tablespoons of water. Return the bean purée to the same pot and stir in the sugar and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until most of the water has evaporated and the purée is very thick, 10 to 15 minutes. Spread bean paste in a wide, shallow container and refrigerate until firm and cool.
• Meanwhile, make the mochi dough: Line a sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper and spread a generous heap of potato starch in a large circle; set aside. In a bowl, whisk together the mochiko flour and 1 1/3 cup/300 milliliters water until smooth. Pour mixture through a mesh strainer into a saucepan, using the whisk to help push it through if necessary. Add the sugar and mix well. Switch to a heatproof spatula and cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens and comes together as one big, smooth, shiny mass that can hold its shape, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Using a starch-dusted knife, cut the dough into 20 even pieces. (If eating plain, or as an ice cream topping, cut into 40 to 50 smaller pieces.) One at a time, use a rolling pin to roll a piece of mochi dough into a thick, flat disk about 2 inches by 2 inches. Use potato starch liberally to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface, the rolling pin or your fingers. Roll a scant tablespoon of bean paste between your hands to form a ball and place it in the center of the rolled-out dough piece. Use your fingers to evenly stretch the mochi dough up and around the filling without squishing it, pinching the dough shut at the top to seal it, and then gently rolling the mochi between your hands to form a rounded shape. Set on the parchment-lined baking sheet with the seam on the bottom. Eat the filled mochi the day they're made, or cover and store in the refrigerator for 1 day.

HOW TO: MAKE MOCHI

Steps:

• Prepare mochi mixture. Add rice flour, corn flour, sugar, ¼ tsp oil and water, mix well and allow this mixture to rest for 30 minutes.
• Steam mochi dough. Place the mixture in a steamer, cover with a clean cloth and steam for 15 minutes. Once the mixture is cooked, remove from steamer. Add in the remaining oil and mix well. Leave to cool.
• Knead the mochi. Transfer the mixture out onto a wax-paper lined traywhen warm enough to handle. Knead and stretch until the mixture is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 mins. Place the mochi in a bowl, cover with cling wrap and rest in the refrigerator for 15 mins.

MOCHI RECIPE WITH RED BEANS

Steps:

• Place Azuki beans in a strainer and rinse. Pick any debris out of the beans.
• Put Azuki beans with water in the Instant Pot. Place lid on top of the pot and lock it into place.
• Make sure the vent is closed and sealed.
• Turn the Instant Pot on and press the Bean/Chilli button.
• The default setting is 35 minutes, so decrease the cooking time to 25 minutes.
• Once it is done cooking the panel will say, Keep Warm. BUT, it isn't ready to open at this point.
• Let it release the pressure naturally, which may take about 15 minutes.
• The venting floating valve button will drop, which indicates the pressure is released.
• Before opening just double check that the valve has dropped.
• Drain the beans in a strainer.
• Place the pot back into the Instant Pot and press the saute button.
• Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Turn off Instant Pot.
• Let beans cool for a couple of hours. If you want to speed up the cooling process, place it in the refrigerator.
• Once the beans have thickened, roll into small balls about the size of ½ inch in diameter.
• Place balls on parchment paper.
• In a medium-size bowl, mix with a whisk, the mochiko flour, and sugar. I use a glass bowl that I can place in the microwave.
• In another bowl, add water and the two drops of vinegar, and mix.
• Now, add the water to the flour and sugar, until well blend. I use a whisk and sometimes use my hands to get rid of the clumps.
• Add food coloring once the mixture is smooth.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a microwaveable plate.
• Place mochi mixture in the microwave and cook on a high setting for a minute. Not all microwaves have the same strength, so your cook time might be less or more. Please adjust accordingly. I have a powerful microwave.
• Take out of the oven and stir. Cover again with plastic and cook another minute.
• Repeat this until you cooked it for about 4 minutes.
• You'll notice that the mochi will start to bake on the sides of the bowl. As you continue, the whole mixture will bake. If after 4 minutes everything is cooked except the middle, that's ok, it's done.
• Take the plastic out of the bowl and now thoroughly mix the mochi with a big spoon. The sweet rice dough is now ready to add the azuki beans.
• Clean your counter and sprinkle it with Mochiko flour or cornstarch. I placed parchment paper down and then covered it with cornstarch.
• Also, sprinkle a container or plate with Mochiko flour or cornstarch.
• Scoop out your hot mochi onto your prepared surface. Cover the top of the dough with cornstarch or Mochiko flour.
• Pat the mochi into a flat surface, adding cornstarch, so it doesn't stick. I usually flattened the dough to about a ¼ inch thickness. The mochi might be a bit hot, so you can let it cool a tiny bit before flattening.
• Form dough into a small pancake about 3 ½ - 4 inches wide in diameter.
• Place one azuki bean ball in the middle of your round pancake and bring up sides of mochi and pinch in the middle. Make sure that all edges get pinched together so there are no holes.
• Roll mochi in a ball in your hand. Place seams side down on a plate that is sprinkled with Mochiko flour or cornstarch.
• Repeat this process until all ingredients are gone.
• If the mochi dough gets dry and won't come together, add a tiny bit of powdered sugar or water, and it will revive the dough, and it becomes sticky and pliable again.
• To store, place plastic wrap around mochi and put in an airtight container.

HOW TO MAKE JAPANESE MOCHI ICE CREAM RECIPE

Steps:

• Line a small tray with parchment paper.
• With a small ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out twelve 2 tablespoon-sized scoops of ice cream (about .75oz /20g) onto the prepared and place in the freezer.
• In a large microwave-safe bowl combine the sweet rice flour, sugar, and water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for one minute.
• Stir the rice flour mixture with a whisk to remove any lumps, re-cover with the plastic wrap, and microwave for another minute.
• Dip a rubber spatula in water and stir the rice mixture again (do not use the whisk this time - it will be too sticky).
• Cover the rice mixture one more time and microwave for another 30 seconds. It will now be a sticky dough. If adding in food dye stir it in at this point until it's evenly throughout the dough.
• Place a large parchment paper on your counter and cover the paper with a generous dusting of cornstarch (or potato starch).
• With a wet spatula, scrape the dough onto the cornstarch and dust the top of the dough with more cornstarch.
• Roll the dough into a rectangle no less than 1/4 inch thick (about 12x14inches/30x35cm). Keep dusting the top and bottom of the dough with cornstarch as you roll or it will stick.
• Once the dough is rolled out, place the parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator to set for 30 minutes.
• Once the dough has set, cut circles of dough with a 3 ¾ inch (9½ cm) cutter.
• Pick up one circle of dough and brush off the excess cornstarch from both sides.
• Working quickly, take one scoop of ice cream, place in the center of the circle flat side facing you. Press the edges of the dough together around the ice cream ball, squeezing to seal.
• Wrap the mochi ice cream balls in cling wrap and place seam side down back in the freezer to set. You could use an egg carton to keep them upright. Repeat with remaining circles of dough and ice cream balls. Allow mochi to freeze totally for a minimum of 2 hours in the freezer.
• When ready to eat, remove from the freezer and let sit for a few minutes to let soften.
• Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 week.

MOCHI

Steps:

• In a bowl (I use a souffle-size bowl, around 2 cups) stir together the rice flour and sugar.
• While mixing with a spoon or small stiff spatula, pour in the boiling water.
• Stir in clockwise direction until the lumps disappear, and the batter is slightly elasticky, about 2 minutes (note: it will become difficult to stir, but try your best anyway!).
• Cover the container with plastic wrap, and microwave on HIGH for 2-4 minutes, depending on your microwave.
• Meanwhile, grease a ziploc bag well.
• Invert the bag (oil side out), and remove the mochi from the bowl into the bag (you can let it cool a bit before you do this, but the more you cool it, the harder the bowl will become to clean =/). Don't burn yourself!
• While the mochi is still warm, start kneading. To knead: Stretch and flatten the dough inside the bag with the palm of your hand, then pick up the bag at one corner, shake it so that it rolls into a ball again, then repeat. You can also knead it by placing the mochi into a greased bowl, and knead it as you would a normal dough. Knead for about 7~10 minutes, or to the consistency (chewiness) you want.
• To prepare the coating: Process the peanuts in a blender or food processor, and spread the powder out in a plate. Do not add sugar to the coating! Because the sugar will dissolve with the moisture in the mochi, making it super sticky.
• Pull off a teaspoonful-sized mochi ball with your hand, and coat in peanut powder. Alternatively, if you prepared it inside a bag, cut off a 1/4" corner, and squeeze from the bag. Separate the balls with greased scissors, or with chopsticks =P.
• Enjoy!
• Variations: Instead of using a coating, you could also wrap sweet red bean paste inside the mochi for daifukus =).

EASY MOCHI

Steps:

• Wrap red bean paste in aluminum foil and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours. Mix sweet rice flour and green tea powder thoroughly in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl. Stir in water, then sugar. Mix until smooth. Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Cook the rice flour mixture in the microwave for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Meanwhile, remove red bean paste from the freezer and divide paste into 8 equal balls. Set aside. Stir rice flour mixture and heat for another 15 to 30 seconds.
• Dust work surface with cornstarch. While the mochi is still hot from the microwave, begin rolling balls the size of about 2 tablespoons. Flatten the mochi ball and place 1 frozen red bean paste ball in the center. Pinch the mochi over the red bean paste until the paste is completely covered. Sprinkle with additional cornstarch and place mochi seam side down in a paper muffin liner to prevent sticking. Repeat until all the mochi and red bean paste is used.