mochi (vegan)

Mochi (糯米糍，麻糬) is a traditional sweet treat from Japan made of glutenous rice flour, which has a soft, chewy, and elastic texture. Mochi is very popular in East Asia, and you can find it in all kinds of forms and fillings. It’s most commonly filled with sweetened red bean paste or coated with peanut or matcha powder.

In Hong Kong, the most popular way to serve mochi is filled with shredded coconut, peanuts, and sugar, then coated with shredded coconut. It’s so good!

Making fresh mochi takes very little time, and it’s so worth it! You can make extra and freeze it for later. So let’s go!

Makes 8 with filling option 1, or makes 4 with filling option 2

Ingredients

60g glutenous rice flour

15g corn starch

25g sugar

1 tbsp vegetable oil

100ml full fat coconut cream (or full fat cow’s milk)

1/6(+/-) cup rice flour for dusting and handling

Filling option 1 (preparation shown below)

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp roasted salted peanuts, crushed but not powdered

2 tbsp shredded coconut

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Filling option 2 (as shown on youtube video):

4 tbsp store bought sweetened red bean paste

1 tbsp sifted matcha powder (for dusting)

Recipe Preparation

In a small frying pan, toast coconut and sesame seeds on medium-high heat, shaking pan frequently to make sure they’re evenly toasted, until light golden brown. Set aside to cool.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together glutenous rice flour, corn starch, sugar, oil, and milk together until well combined. Pour batter into a nonstick pan on medium heat, then stir frequently until batter forms a sticky dough. Remove from heat and let cool slightly in the pan.

In a small bowl, mix filling ingredients together.

Dust a clean work counter (or silicon parchment paper) with rice flour and put mochi dough on it. Shape dough into a rough rectangle and use a rolling pin to flatten it to about 0.5 cm thick. Divide dough into 8 even pieces. Take one piece in your hand and put about 1.5 tsp of coconut peanut filling or 2 tbsp sweetened red bean paste in the middle of the dough. Seal the edges with your fingertips until all sides are secured. Repeat for the remaining.

Serve fresh or keep in freezer for later.