A popular Japanese sweet treat, Daifuku is a small, round mochi filled with sweet red bean paste. This easy recipe shows how you can make this delicious snack at home with a quick steam on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Daifuku (大福) or Daifuku Mochi (大福餅) is a small round mochi stuffed with anko (sweetened red bean paste) made from azuki beans. We usually enjoy this popular Japanese sweet with green tea.
I’ve previously shared Strawberry Daifuku recipe on Just One Cookbook, which includes a whole strawberry inside a mochi surrounded by anko filling. While strawberry daifuku is seasonal and available during the springtime, daifuku is available all year round at Japanese confectionery shops and supermarkets. Here, I will show you how to make the classic daifuku mochi with 2 quick and easy methods— steaming and microwaving.
Table of contents
What is Daifuku
Among the wide variety of traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi), daifuku is considered a type of mochi sweet. The name daifuku literally means “great luck.” What a perfect name! Who wouldn’t get lucky after eating these adorably round, chewy and tasty sweets?!
In Japan, you’ll find all sorts of colors and fillings for daifuku. Some shops even sell daifuku the size of one’s palm instead of the usual golf ball size, which is 3-4 cm in diameter. You can also bake, grill, or eat daifuku in soups.
A Quick History
Daifuku was a later product from uzura mochi (mochi shaped like a quail) which was popular during the early Edo period (1603-1867). During the Meiji period (1868), salted red bean was a common filling as sugar was a luxury item at the time.
In 1875, it is said that a widow in Koishikawa, Edo (modern-day Tokyo), refashioned the sweets by making them in smaller sizes and added sugar to the red bean paste. It became known as habotai mochi (thick belly rice cake) because the rice cake resembled a well-fed belly. The name later changed to daifuku mochi (big belly rice cake), as fuku can mean both ‘belly’ and ‘luck’.
The new daifuku mochi was then given a new meaning by using “大福” the kanji (Chinese characters) for big luck. As a result, we often serve daifuku—known to bring good luck and fortune—during Japanese New Year and other spring celebrations.
How to Make Daifuku with Red Bean Filling
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) OR mochiko – I personally prefer to use shiratamako as it yields a better texture compared to mochiko. However, I understand that mochiko is cheaper and widely accessible.
- Water
- Sugar
- Potato starch or cornstarch
- Sweet red bean paste (anko) – store-bought or homemade
Overview: Cooking Steps
- Prepare the sweet red bean paste if using homemade. You can prepare it in advance and freeze.
- Make the mochi mixture: Combine the rice flour, sugar, and water. Microwave or steam the mixture until it becomes translucent and cooked through.
- Spread and the mochi into a thin layer: Transfer the hot mochi onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and dusted with potato starch. Use a rolling pin to roll out the mochi.
- Refrigerate for 15 minutes until the mochi is set.
- Cut the chilled mochi into 7-8 mochi wrapper circles.
- Stuff the anko filling: Wrap the sweet red bean filling with the mochi.
Homemade Red Bean Filling: Fine or Coarse Texture
You can make two types of red bean filling.
- Koshian (fine texture)
- Tsubuan (coarse texture)
I’m more inclined with tsubuan for its coarse texture as you can still taste the azuki bean skin in the paste. However, it’s totally personal. Get my homemade recipe here and make it in advance.
Different Types of Daifuku
Anko red bean paste is the most common filling for daifuku. However, you can find some other popular flavors and fillings, such as:
- Yomogi Daifuku – Green colored mochi made with yomogi (Japanese mugwort leaves).
- Matcha Daifuku – Matcha (green tea powder) is used to flavor either the mochi or the white bean paste (shiroan) or both to create a lovely matcha-scented mochi sweet.
- Ichigo Daifuku – A springtime favorite, this daifuku is stuffed with strawberry.
- Shio Daifuku – This daifuku uses a mix of salt and sugar in the red bean filling to create a mildly sweet and salty taste.
- Ume Daifuku – Ume or Japanese plum is another signature flavor for Japanese sweets. For this version, the tangy ume is coated with red bean paste to create a contrasting flavor before they are wrapped with mochi. A precious flavor to enjoy in early spring during ume season.
- Coffee Daifuku – Made from mochi stuffed with a creamy coffee-flavored bean paste. Some variations even include a filling made with fresh cream, sometimes called Café au lait Daifuku. Other types mix the mochi with coffee, causing the rice cake to take on a coffee-like brown color and a coffee taste and aroma.
- White bean paste (Shiroan) – After red bean paste, white bean paste (made from lima beans or butter beans) is also very popular. It has a milder taste and can be used on its own as a filling or mixed with other flavoring.
- Kinako paste – A filling made from roasted soybean flour.
More on Japanese Desserts and Sweets
- How to Make Mochi with a Stand Mixer
- Mitarashi Dango
- Wagashi Guide: History of Japanese Confectioneries
- What is Mochi? All You Need to Know About Japanese Rice Cakes
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Daifuku Mochi
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (or use mochiko; see the measurement below)
- ¼ cup sugar (do not omit; the sugar helps the mochi stay soft)
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup potato starch or cornstarch
- 1½ cup sweet red bean paste (anko) (I use tsubuan chunky paste; you can make Homemade Anko)
To Substitute Shiratamako with Mochiko, Use:
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Make the Mochi Mixture
- Combine ¾ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) and ¼ cup sugar in a medium bowl and whisk it all together. Tip: If you can‘t find shiratamako, you can substitute ¾ cup mochiko (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour).
- Add ¾ cup water and mix well until combined.
- Microwave Method: If you’re using a microwave to cook the mochi, loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Put the bowl in the microwave and heat it on high (1100w) for 1 minute. Take it out and stir it with wet rubber spatula. Cover again loosely and cook for 1 additional minute. Stir again, cover loosely, and cook for 30 seconds more to finish cooking. The color of the mochi will change from white to almost translucent.
- Steaming Method: If you’re using a steamer, wrap the steamer lid with a towel so the condensation does not drop into the mochi mixture. Put the bowl into the steamer basket and cover to cook for 15 minutes. Halfway through cooking, stir it with a wet rubber spatula, then cover to finish cooking. The color of the mochi will change from white to almost translucent.
To Roll and Cut the Mochi
- Cover your work surface with parchment paper and dust it generously with some of the ½ cup potato starch or cornstarch. Then transfer the hot mochi on top.
- To prevent it from sticking, sprinkle more potato starch on top of the mochi. Once it cools a bit, spread the mochi into a thin layer, about 3/16 inch (4–5 mm), with your hands or with a rolling pin. Make sure to apply potato starch to your hands and the rolling pin as needed. I recommend using a rolling pin because it’s easier to evenly spread out the mochi.
- Transfer the mochi with parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes (no more than that) until the mochi is set.
- Take out the mochi from the refrigerator and cut 7–8 mochi wrapper circles with a 3½-inch (9-cm) cookie cutter.
- Dust off the excess potato starch from these wrappers with a pastry brush. If you find any sticky spots, cover the area with potato starch, then dust it off. Next, stack the wrappers: Place a piece of plastic wrap on a plate and put a mochi circle on top. Then, layer another piece of plastic wrap on top, and add another wrapper. Repeat for all the wrappers. Roll the leftover mochi dough into a ball, roll it out into a thin layer, and cut out more wrappers circles. You can make about 12 mochi wrappers.
To Make the Daifuku
- Now, we’re ready to make the Daifuku. On the work surface, place one sheet of plastic wrap with a mochi wrapper on top. Using a medium cookie scoop, place one scoop of the 1½ cup sweet red bean paste (anko) on top of the mochi wrapper.
- Pinch the four opposite points of the mochi circle together to enclose the anko. Then pinch the remaining edges together.
- Put some potato starch on the sealed area and set aside, seam side down. Continue making the rest of the Daifuku.
To Store
- Keep the Daifuku mochi in an airtight container and store in a cool, dry place. Enjoy within 2 days. For summer months when it‘s very hot, you may want to refrigerate these; since mochi gets hard in the refrigerator, you will need to wrap the container with a thick kitchen towel to keep it cool but not cold.
Happy Holidays Ms. Nami !
I tried this recipe today and I loved it !! I had a hard time folding the bottom though so all my daifuku look super funny~
I have a request~ I am not 100% sure if its mochi or dango that you can put on top of your frozen yogurt. I know in Japan, the round ones are dango but there is also another kind of topping that is small and tasty. I think it is mochi, I remember seeing the label. Could you please show us how to make the little mochi that you can just eat plainly or put on top of frozen yogurt or ice cream.
Thank you so much! Sorry for such a complicated and long message!
Merry (early) Christmas and Happy (early) New Year !!!! 😀
Hi JoAn! I am pretty sure your second time will look much better. My first few times were not pretty enough to be on the blog. 😉
“Mochi” has many different types, especially when written in English. This daifuku is probably simply called Japanese mochi when it’s in store, but we have a specific name for each type.
The type you’re talking about is called Gyuhi (求肥). It’s basically the mochi skin you wrap the red bean. After you cook mochi and pour onto the working surface dusted on potato/corn starch, don’t roll out thin like you did for this recipe. Keep it 1/4 inch (8 mm or so) thickness. Once it’s cooled, you can cut into small cubes. And that’s the mochi you use as topping for frozen yogurt. 🙂 You can flavor it or color it as you like before cooking. 🙂
Hi Nami, I just made this using your recipe. When I added the water to the mochiko, the mixture is watery but it’s kind of thick. I microwaved it like you said but the dough didn’t turn translucent and when I tasted it, it was grainy and paste-y. The dough was very glue-like rather than a dough. Do you know what could be wrong? Thank you!
p.s. we stilled enjoyed the mochi 😉
Hi Asl! Did you use a kitchen scale or cup measurement? Remember, your 1 cup and my 1 cup will be very different so I always recommend using a kitchen scale. That’s one thing. And from what you wrote, it is possible that you didn’t have enough water to mochiko. In the video around 3:00, you will see the color of mochi. It’s not white and it’s kind of jiggly, was yours like that? Since you said grainy and pasty, maybe it didn’t cooked properly. Also each microwave is different Wattage, so you will need to check with yours. I’m thinking it’s the combination of less water and overcook was the issue for your case. 🙂
Hi Nami, thanks for the reply! Yes, I used a ktichen scale for the mochiko. The mochi dough wasn’t translucent nor jiggly, it was pretty much just white even after I microwaved it for 2 1/2 minutes. I thought it wasn’t cooked through, so I microwaved it for another minute but it didn’t change color 🙁 My microwave is 900 watts.
Anyways, thank you and I’ll try to make it again next time!
Hi Asl! I don’t have this microwave anymore but the one I had was 1100W (now 1400W). Do small increments and see how it goes if you make next time. 🙂 In general, mochiko is slightly different texture than shiratamako (I recommend this kind, but hard to find outside of Japanese supermarkets). I’ve made daifuku with both flours, so I know both works fine. Good luck! 🙂
Is there any difference between the microwave version and the steamer version?
Hi Lyn! The result will be the same. 🙂
These are my absolute favorite! I’ve made them three times now, and they’re easy and quick to make. Thank you for your recipe!
Hi Tammie! So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Is it possible to substitute the sugar with stevia on the mochi? I mean, i know you say not to omit the sugar. I may just try it on my own later once I can get some beans. I also wanted to add matcha powder about 1tsp to the mochi. Also substitute sugar in bean paste with stevia as well. I love eating these from.the asian store but they are so high calorie for me when I have to eat every 2hrs for a medical condition. Ao trying to lower the carbs and calories and also trying to loose weight. Both of which the matcha and Azuki Beans may help with my health.
Hi Swift! I haven’t tried the mochi and anko recipe with stevia, so it’s hard for me to say if it works how how it will turn out. If you end up trying, please let us know – maybe other people might think it’s helpful. Hope it’ll work so that you can enjoy! Otherwise… enjoy smaller serving? I know these are addicting!
Swift, did you by chance try with stevia? I’d love to know if any other sweeteners work because I don’t do well with sugar.
Thanks for the recipe!
I tried and it turned out really well!
But the shop where I usually go to didn’t have azuki beans this time so I switched with peach jam, unespectedly it isn’t that bad.
Anyway I like the anko version more.
Thank you again! 🙂
Hi Lotty! Thank you for trying this recipe! Ohhh peach jam! That sounds delicious though. 🙂 Hope you can try anko version next time! xo
Hi, if I freeze and then defrost mochi, will the taste be a lot different?
Hi Sam! Do you mean, after you make you freeze? That’s okay. It’s better than keeping in the fridge for a few days. 🙂
I just made these using your microwave method. It was my fist time to make mocha of any type. This is such an easy recipe to follow and such a fun dough to work with. Thank you for this recipe.
Hi Melanie! I’m so happy to hear you liked the recipe! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! xo 🙂
Hi! Is there any possible way to replace rice flour? It isn’t available very easily for me,and I was wondering if regular flour could work? Thanks in advance!
Hi Lismar! I understand very well that some Japanese ingredients are very hard to find in some countries/areas. Unfortunately, glutinous rice (or same thing if it’s called sweet rice) is absolutely necessary to make mochi / daifuku. There is special stickiness and elasticity and that only happens with glutinous rice/sweet rice. I’m so sorry you can’t find it.
I’m not sure where you live, but you can try online shops. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I used your recipe for dough, but substituted water for mango nectar. I made the filling from fine desicated coconut and fresh mango, definitely a delicious fusion.
In Japan i found mochi being sold in gift shops everywhere that was simply a folded square of mochi with a little ball of filling in the center, they looked like little flat triangles, do you by any chance know what these are called?
Thank you!
Hi Laura! That sounds really delicious!! I love mango and your mango coconut mochi ice cream sounds amazing!
Hmmm there are so many kinds of mochi and I can’t tell what it is by your description. Unique part about this particular one is flat triangle ball filling? What color was it? If you have a picture, it will be helpful…
Perhaps this is what you had in mind:
Yatsuhashi 八つ橋
A Kyoto specialty 🙂
Oh my gosh, DD! You’re right! What I was thinking, Yatsuhashi is such a typical souvenir sweet, yet I completely didn’t think about it. I was thinking “flat triangle ball filling”… I read the description wrong…. You totally helped us!
Laura, DD is right, I think you mean Yatsuhashi.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yatsuhashi
Yes! That is it. I only saw them in gift shops around temples in Kyoto, I thought it may have been a specialty.
Thank you DD!
Can you make these ahead of time and freeze them? Or is there any way to extend their shelf life? I’m hoping to make a ton of them for a baby shower of a friend and keep them for three days instead of two because there’s so much else to cook!
Hi Ginny! I think, freezing works IF there is no strawberry inside. When it is defrosted, strawberry might give too much moisture and may end up with soggy mochi. Same reason why I don’t recommend to keep it for more than 2 days. Even for chocolate covered strawberries, it’s hard to keep longer than 2 days. Sorry, I wish there is a solution for your party…
Hey Nami! I’ve been really wanting to try Mochi desserts for a while now and finally got around to making some today! Your recipe for Daifuku turned out great and even though mine came out extra mini, they still tasted amazing! I even added a chocolate truffle to some for variety and those tasted yummy as well 😉 Thanks again for another awesome recipe 😀
P.s. For making savory Mochi, would I either have to buy packs of kirimochi and/or make it from scratch using sweet rice, right? I don’t think I can use shiratamako/mochiko instead to make it but correct me if I’m wrong! Thank you!! 😀
Hi Lexi! Chocolate truffles! Ah I never thought of that idea and I’ll have to make one someday! 🙂 So happy to hear you liked the recipe. Next time will be easier and look better because of this first experience. 🙂
For savory mochi, we use kirimochi. I shared a video/recipe on this post. Hope this helps!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-enjoy-japanese-mochi/
Thanks for the speedy reply Nami! And that post is perfect and really informative thank you. Oh man, now I’m craving all sorts of Mochi goodies late at night! D: Heehee xD
Hi! I love both the sweet chewy soft mochi (like what comes with red bean or ice cream filling) and also the dry savory kind that you puff up in the toaster. Is there a way to make the un-sweet kind at home, or is it too difficult? I assume that it is made more traditionally with the pounded rice as opposed to one that you mix with the glutinous flour & water?
You probably need special equipment to handle, roll out, and cut the savory kind? The dry kind is usually individually wrapped to keep fresh and to also keep it from absorbing moisture from the air and getting sticky?
I don’t speak or read Japanese. I am lucky that I live in San Francisco and we have a Nijiya Market here. If I were to look for the pre-wrapped savory mochi to be toasted, what would it be called?
Thank you!
Hi Susan! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post.
Nami has a recipe, How to Make Mochi with a Stand Mixer! It uses sweet rice, and it’s chewier than Daifuku. We hope you will check it out!
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-make-mochi-with-a-stand-mixer/
The pre-wrapped savory Mochi is called “Kirimochi,” or rice cakes, and here is the picture of them. Hopefully, you can use this picture to look for it.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/mochi-rice-cakes/
And here is the link, how to enjoy the Mochi.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-enjoy-japanese-mochi/
We hope this is helpful! 😊
Love this recipe. Where do you get the prong utensil that you serve it with?
We call it Yoji or Kashi Kiri in Japanese… it’s a bamboo fork for wagashi (Japanese confectionery). Usually you can purchase it in Japanese grocery stores, Japanese tea store, and Daiso (Japanese $ store)… I couldn’t find it on Amazon. I brought these back from Japan…
I just finished making this and the outside was really doughy and chewy? What did I do wrong?
Hi Calum! The mochi is “chewy” and elastic BUT it’s not doughy… so from your description, it seems like your dough wasn’t cooked completely. Was it somewhat translucent when you heat up? My microwave setting is 1100W. Maybe yours weren’t cooked through yet?
I am making these right now! My husband and I tried daifuku for the first time not too long ago and have been dying to eat some more. I love your instructions and how easy you make it. I’m using the same red bean paste you did; do you know how I should store the leftover paste? Does it need to be refrigerated?
Hi Lauren! Hope your daifuku came out well. 🙂 Yes keep in the airtight container and store in the fridge for a week or so. Or I use up all of it to make Zenzai (red bean soup).