Super Easy Mochi Recipe

Mochi is Japan’s favourite sweet. You can eat it all year round, but it is primarily linked to New Year’s Day.

Whilst it is a typical food in Japan, it can be challenging to find in the UK, and the options are very limited.

It’s surprisingly easy to make your own mochi at home in the microwave, all you need is:

160 g Sweet rice flour or Glutinous rice flour (You can’t use regular rice flour)

65g sugar

235ml of water

Filling of your choice

A handful of corn starch

1. First mix together your 160g of Sweet rice flour and 65g sugar into a microwave safe bowl.
2. Next gradually add 235ml of water, whisking as you go to get a white, runny dough.
3. Cover your bowl with cling film and microwave it on high for three minutes. Check to make sure the mixture has thickened to a gummy texture, and if it hasn’t, microwave it for another minute and check on it.
4. Spread some corn starch out on a tray and then put your mochi dough on top. Squash the dough flat and sprinkle corn starch on top before rolling it out with a rolling pin.
5. Dust off as much corn starch as you can then cut your rolled out dough into eight sections.
6. The next step requires some creativity. You can either roll the dough into a ball and eat it as it is, or you can add a filling. Traditionally mochi would be filled with red bean paste, but that can also be hard to find in the UK and is not everyone’s favourite flavour. For this recipe, you can add anything to be your filling. Simply add a teaspoon of cream, jam, chocolate spread, or whatever to the centre of the section of cutout, flat mochi, and wrap it up like a parcel. The dough is still soft so you can form it into a ball with you hands, or use clingfilm like you’re making an onigiri.
7. Put in the fridge for 15 minutes to cool and set into regular mochi, or eat them warm and fresh out of the microwave. Happy new year!