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 moth.
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 a must to roll it in a flour or powder of some sorts. From my experience, kinako aka soybean flour is probably the most popular flavor of mochi in Japan next to matcha. It is nutty and subtly sweet and powdery. If you have never tried it before, it’s similar to powder peanut butter. Not everyone enjoys the flavor, so here are some alternatives you can dust the mochi in.
- Corn Starch: takes away the stickiness of mochi without adding flavor
- Tapioca Flour: Similar to corn starch, takes away the stickiness without adding flavor
- Potato Starch: Similar to corn starch, takes away the stickiness without adding flavor
- Powder Sugar: this one is tempting, since it make sense tase-wise, but it is a bit tricky. The powder sugar is almost too light and it would sort of just melt into the mochi. I would suggest mixing it with some corn starch. If you do decide to use, just make sure that the mochi has completely cooled down first before rolling & dusting
- Matcha
- Black Sesame Powder
Looking for more mochi recipes? Check out these recipes!
Quick & Easy Microwave Mochi
Ingredients
- 150 g water or milk
- 65 g cane sugar
- 100 g glutinous rice flour
- cornstarch or tapioca starch or kinako for dusting
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.
