Recipe

How To Make The Best Homemade Mochi You've Ever Had

By Jennifer Campestrini at Florida International University

If you've had mochi before, you already know how incredibly delicious it is. But if you haven't, let me tell you, you absolutely need to try it. And no matter what level of mochi experience you have, this homemade mochi recipe is going to taste like one of the best desserts you've ever had! That's because not only is it easy to make and tastes amazing, this homemade mochi recipe can be personalized just the way you like it. That means it will taste exactly how you want it to, making it the very best mochi you've ever had.

What is Mochi?

Mochi originates from Japan. It is made with a sweet, glutinous rice flour and often additional ingredients like cornstarch, water, and sugar (sometimes powdered sugar). When this mixture is heated and cooked, it forms a sticky dough. This dough is then molded and formed into various shapes, and many times other ingredients are stuffed within the dough. The most popular type of mochi in the US is ice cream mochi. In this form, the dough of this mochi is sweetened and later stuffed with ice cream. Simply put, ice cream mochi is a Japanese dessert consisting of a ball of ice cream surrounded by a sweet and sticky rice dough.

How Good Is Mochi?

Trust me, when I first heard about it, I was a bit skeptical. I mean, how good can sticky rice dough really be? I am pleased to inform you that it is, by far, one of the best desserts I have ever had. I would eat it every day if I could. But mochi is often pretty expensive when store-bought and way over-priced in restaurants. To enjoy mochi as much as I wanted without going completely broke, I knew I wanted to make my own mochi from a recipe. So when I found this particular one, I knew I had to make it immediately. The fact that I could personalize it to taste exactly the way I wanted it to...I just couldn't wait to get started.

Why Making This Mochi Is Better Than Buying It

Now what makes this particular homemade mochi recipe the best one you've ever had is because you can personalize it! You can choose whatever ice cream or other filling you'd like and customize the homemade mochi to taste like the best mochi you've ever had! In the video above, I chose to make mochi with a vegan ice cream. It can be made with literally any ice cream you want! That's right, you know your favorite flavor of ice cream you always buy from the grocery store? You can make it into mochi! Check out the recipe below to figure out just how easy it is to make.

Ice Cream Mochi

  • Prep Time: 1 hr
  • Cook Time: 3 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hr 3 mins
  • Servings: 12
Ingredients
  • 3/4 cup sweet rice flour
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • ice cream or filling your choice

Gabby Phi

Step 1

Scoop ice cream into 12 small balls, place on cupcake liners, and put them into the freezer for at least 1 hour.

Dorothy Berger

Step 2

Once the ice cream balls are frozen solid, prepare the mochi dough by combining the sweet rice flour, sugar, and water into a bowl. Mix well.

Jocelyn Hsu

Step 3

Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute.

Step 4

Remove the bowl, mix the dough, and microwave for an additional 1 minute. Remove and mix again.

Carlie Littman

Step 5

Sprinkle a flat surface or counter with additional sweet rice flour and pour the dough on top. Then sprinkle more sweet rice flour on top of the dough.

Kimberly Rich

Step 6

Roll out the mochi dough and cut into large circles. Cover and allow to cool. (Once cool you may need to use water to moisten the dough to make it stick together.)

Step 7

Remove the ice cream balls from the freezer. Place each ball into the center of the dough circles. Grab the sides of the dough and pinch the dough at the top of the ice cream ball until the ice cream is completely encased in dough.

Abigail Wilkins

Step 8

Cover and place the mochi back into the freezer until it is time to be eaten. When ready, remove the mochi and enjoy!

This homemade mochi recipe is a modified version of the recipe that comes from Just One Cookbook. Click here to see the original recipe and more detailed version of the recipe. Or view the video above for a demonstration of how to make the homemade mochi.

You can also add other fillings, like strawberries and Nutella seen in the image above, to make this homemade mochi recipe exactly the way you want it. Whatever you want to add, there is no doubt that this will be the best homemade mochi you've ever had because it is just the way you want it to be!

Happy Homemade Mochi Making!