How to make a Mochi

Mochi is a Japanese treat made into a dough from glutinous rice. It’s pounded into a paste and then kneaded until it becomes super elastic. It’s versatile and either has flavoured dough (usually with sweet fruits like peach or melon) or is stuffed. In Japan, mochi is often filled with red bean paste, in the west this is often replaced with chocolate.

This recipe is taken from u-taste.com - we love this website, so many brilliant Japanese and Korean baking recipes. We’re addicted to making their cakes and cream sandwiches - so please check them out.

Mochi recipe with blueberry cream and compote.

This recipe creates the base for the dough using the microwave. The alternative is to steam the dough mixture for 20 minutes over a pan until it cooks together. We found the microwave method to be really easy and takes no time at all.

Be prepared though - this dough takes some kneading while it’s hot. So get gloves and don’t be Richard in the video (he has asbestos hands)! Also be prepared for an arm workout, this is one of the firmest doughs we’ve kneaded. This recipe makes 8 mochi

Ingredients for the Blueberry Mochi Recipe

For the Blueberry Mochi dough

• 100g glutinous rice flour - available from places like Food for Foodies

• 30g cornflour

• 40g caster sugar

• 185g milk

• 15g unsalted butter

For the Blueberry Compote

• 250g fresh blueberries - try to get them from a local farm shop rather than a supermarket

• 60g caster sugar

• 15g lemon juice

Blueberry Chantilly Cream

• 250g double cream

• 40g of the blueberry compote above

• 25g caster sugar

Directions for making Blueberry Mochi

Making the blueberry compote

• Pour the blueberries into a saucepan along with the sugar and the lemon juice.

• Bring to a medium heat and gently cook down the blueberries, stirring in the sugar and lemon juice.

• Keep cooking until the blueberries reduce right down to a beautiful purple mush. Our favourite bit about this part is popping the blueberries against the side of the saucepan.

• Once reduced right down, take off the heat, pour into a clean bowl and allow to cool before popping in the fridge.

Making the Mochi Dough

• In a microwave safe bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour, cornflour, sugar and milk and then mix together.

• Prepare a wooden board or work surface with flour ready to tip the mochi dough out on to.

• Cover the bowl, either with a lid you can allow steam out of, or clingfilm with holes pricked in. Then place in the microwave for 3 minutes.

• The dough will come out firm, with no liquid sloshing around and it will be translucent.

• Now comes the hot bit! Pop some gloves on and tip the dough out onto the flour. Mix the butter into the hot dough.

• Start kneading the dough, knead like bread, using the heel of your palm to push the dough away, and stretch the dough out. If you have a clean meat hammer or wooden mallet, you can pound the dough - which is how it is made in Japan. Between kneading, stretching and pounding - the dough will eventually come together, lose its stickiness and become super stretchy.

• Once you have a stretchy, firm dough - wrap in oiled clingfilm and then pop in the fridge.

• When you’re ready to make the mochi itself, roll out into a long sausage of even thickness and divide into 8 or 9 even pieces.

How to make the Blueberry Chantilly Cream

• In another bowl, pour in the cream and the sugar.

• Using a hand blender, whisk the cream until it starts thickening.

• Spoon a tablespoon of blueberry compote in the cream and then combine together.

How to Make the Mochi

• Roll a piece of mochi dough out until it is very flat and thin.

• Place over a small ramekin or shallow dish, you will need dough hanging off the side.

• Pipe or place a teaspoon of cream into the dough.

• Place a teaspoon of compote on top of the cream.

• Fold the corners all together and pinch so that the mochi is sealed and the filling won’t come out.

• Place into a cupcake wrapper on a small amount of flour or icing sugar

• Repeat for the other dough pieces.

How long will Mochi keep for?

Mochi is best eaten fresh, so if you don’t want 8 mochi all at once, then wrap the pieces in clingfilm until ready to use. On our first make for this recipe, we popped them into the fridge and then the next day the finished mochi were hard as bullets!