Satisfy your sweet tooth in minutes with this Quick & Easy Microwave Mochi recipe! The mochi is ready in about 5 minutes– from raw ingredients to a soft chewy treat that you can pop in your mouth.
My favorite way to eat mochi is rather simple: mochi dough cut into bite-size cubes and dusted with kinako (roasted soybean flour).
Use this recipe as a foundation for other customizations. Ex. Sub out the water/milk in the recipe for juice for a fruity version. Mix the mochi dough with shredded coconut or other add-ins for a textural experience. The possibilities are endless!
The Process
Mix together water (or milk), sugar, and glutinous rice flour in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the microwave. The edges should have started setting but the center is still raw. Mix the mixture, cover, and microwave at 30s intervals, mixing after each interval, until a thick and semi-transparent mixture forms. Let cool ~2-5 minutes so it becomes cool enough to handle.
Dust a work surface with cornstarch or another type of flour/powder (see list in the section below) and transfer the mochi to it. Dust the top with cornstarch and using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the mochi to about 1/2″ thick or to your desired thickness. Cut the mochi and dust with more cornstarch to prevent sticking.
Dusting Flours/Powders
Mochi is very sticky, so it is essential to roll it in flour or some sort of powder. From my experience, kinako, also known as soybean flour, is probably the most popular flavor of mochi in Japan, right after matcha. It has a nutty, subtly sweet, and powdery taste. If you have never tried it before, it’s similar to powdered peanut butter. Not everyone enjoys this flavor, so here are some alternatives for dusting the mochi.
- Corn Starch: The classic duster for mochi. Corn starch helps prevent the mochi from sticking and gives it a smooth, velvety texture and a clean, white appearance without affecting the flavor.
- Tapioca Flour: Similar to corn starch with the exception that the flour is just slightly lighter and whiter than corn starch.
- Potato Starch: Similar to corn starch with the exception that it gives the mochi a slightly glossier and shinier appearance and the flour has a sublte sweet flavor.
- Kinako: aka roasted soybean flour adds a delightfully nutty, toasty, and slightly sweet flavor, a powdery texture, and a light honey-brown appearance.
- Matcha Powder: dusting with matcha gives the mochi a rich, earthy, and slightly bitter taste and a beautiful vibrant green color.
- Black Sesame Powder: dusting with black sesame powder gives the mochi a rich, nutty, and slightly roasted flavor, a powdery texture, and a speckled black and white color.
Shop for the ingredients
Looking for more mochi recipes? Check these out!
- Warabimochi with Tapioca Flour
- Black Sesame Mochi Bar
- Nian Gao (Chinese New Year Rice Cake)
- 3 Layer Macchiato Mochi
Quick & Easy Microwave Mochi
Equipment
- microwave-safe bowl
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 150 g water or milk
- 65 g cane sugar
- 100 g mochiko
- cornstarch, kinako (soybean flour) or any of the dusting flours/powders listed above
Instructions
- Mix together water/milk, sugar and glutinous rice flour. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute.
- Remove from the microwave and mix the mixture together. The top and edges should be partially cooked but the center and bottom will most likely be raw. Cover and microwave at 30s intervals, mixing after each interval, until a thick and semi-transparent mixture forms. The total microwave time for me is about 2.5 minutes (1 minute then three 30s intervals).
- After the last interval, mix the mixture, stretching and folding it over itself. This will help the steam to vent as well as even out the mixture. Let it cool uncovered until it is cool enough to handle ~2-5 minutes.
- Generously dust your work surface with cornstarch (or another dusting flour/powder like kinako) and transfer the mochi to it. Dust the top with cornstarch and using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the mochi to about 1/2" thick or to your desired thickness. Cut the mochi and dust with more cornstarch to prevent sticking.
