Perfectly chewy with a hint of sweetness, Green Tea Mochi is a timeless Japanese sweet enjoyed by all ages. I’ll show you how make two versions with brilliant contrasting colors. Serve this matcha daifuku with green tea or hojicha for a delightful afternoon treat!
Many of you have shared that you relish the soft and chewy texture of Japanese mochi. They come in a round cake shape that’s small and soft, and each bite can feel like an indulgently sweet affair.
Today, I’m sharing my recipe for how to make Green Tea Mochi (抹茶大福). In Japan, we have different styles of mochi and this particular kind is called daifuku mochi (大福餅). I’ll show you two ways to make this delicious matcha daifuku—either white mochi with green tea filling or green mochi with white bean filling. I suggest you try them both!
Table of Contents
How To Make Mochi Dough from Scratch
We have 2 ways to make mochi dough for daifuku at home:
- Steam the glutinous rice (sweet rice) and pound it. At home, you can make mochi with a stand mixer.
- Microwave or steam shiratamako (白玉粉) or mochiko (もち粉).
In this recipe, we’ll use the second method using shiratamako. It’s easier and quicker, and the result is wonderful. Shiratamako is the most commonly used ingredient to make daifuku at home in Japan. Look for shiratamako at your local Japanese grocery store.
While shiratamako and mochiko are both glutinous rice flours, they are different in taste and texture. Mochiko is cheaper and more widely accessible, but I always prefer shiratamako when it comes to making Japanese sweets like matcha daifuku. The flour is so much more flexible to work with, and you’ll get a really smooth and bouncy texture.
Make Green Tea Mochi 2 Ways!
Since the ingredients for the two types of these Green Tea Mochi are exactly the same, let’s make both!
1. White Mochi with Green Tea Filling
For this version, we use unflavored, white mochi dough made with shiratamako. You can also steam glutinous rice (sweet rice) and pound it to make mochi (see my post How to Make Mochi with Stand Mixer). For the green filling with a matcha flavor, we mix matcha green tea powder into the homemade white bean paste (shiroan).
2. Green Mochi with White Bean Filling
In this variation, we add matcha to the mochi dough to make it green. For the white filling, we use unflavored white bean paste (shiroan) to contrast with the green outer layer.
Now that you see both kinds of green tea mochi, you may wonder which one you’ll like better. My family prefers the white mochi with green tea filling because the matcha flavor is more prominent.
Ingredients You’ll Need for Green Tea Mochi (Matcha Daifuku)
- matcha – Japanese green tea powder
- shiratamako – glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour
- sugar
- water
- potato starch or cornstarch – for dusting
How To Make Green Tea Mochi
- Prepare the filling with homemade white bean paste. Add matcha powder if you’re making the green filling and blend the mixture well. Cover the microwave-safe bowl of paste with plastic wrap and freeze briefly to firm up the texture.
- Roll the paste into balls.
- Make the mochi dough. Combine the shiratamako and sugar, then add the water and whisk the batter well until there are no lumps. Cover the bowl with a paper towel, then heat in a microwave oven and stir.
- Roll out the mochi dough on a baking sheet sprinkled with potato starch or cornstarch. Divide and flatten the dough into a circle shape.
- Add the filling and wrap the dough.
3 Tips for Making Mochi Dough in the Microwave
1. Mix the shiratamako and water thoroughly
Whisk together shiratamako and water well until the mixture is homogeneous.
2. Cover the bowl with a paper towel
I’ve learned that a piece of paper towel works much better than plastic wrap. It’s less hazardous, too. You’re less likely burn your hand with hot steam when you uncover it.
3. Microwave in short intervals
Each microwave has different wattage, so follow my recipe only if yours is the same wattage. If you are not sure, cook in short 30-second intervals. Then, check the progress; the mochi is cooked through if it looks opaque.
5 Useful Tips for Wrapping Mochi
1. Chill the filling until firm
When the filling is still warm and soft, it can be bothersome to wrap the mochi layer around. So make sure to chill the filling before you wrap so it’s not sticky or pliable.
2. Make the mochi dough into a round shape
Ideally, a balanced mochi dough wrapper will have a slightly thicker center and a thinner outer layer. Still, homemade mochi tends to have a thick bottom layer because the mochi dough collects at the bottom when we wrap it around the filling. Forming the mochi dough into a round shape allows you to reshape the wrapper and even out the thickness.
3. Coat the mochi dough with potato starch or cornstarch
Mochi dough is sticky. You’ll need to coat it, your hands, and the work surface with potato or corn starch so it doesn’t stick. Make sure all areas of the dough are covered evenly in a thin layer of starch so you don’t get a mouthful of white powder when you bite into the mochi.
4. Pull the mochi dough and pinch tightly
When the mochi dough is coated with starch, it can be hard to seal the seam. You can either dust off the starch with a pastry brush or pull the dough to expose a new sticky surface for sealing. When the sticky surface appears, make sure to pinch tightly with fingers coated with starch. Otherwise, your fingers will be a sticky mess!
5. Rotate the mochi to shape and close it
Once you close the seam, you can flip the mochi and put the seam side down on your palm. Rotate the mochi on your palm a few times to reshape, then apply the starch on the bottom to finish.
Homemade Mochi vs. Store-bought Mochi
Making mochi at home may seem intimidating, but I can assure you that it is entirely manageable. No doubt it is an unavoidably sticky undertaking, but the process will bring you so much joy and fulfillment. Whenever I make mochi at home, I enlist my daughter to help. While her mochi may not turn out perfectly, it’s such a precious bonding time for us!
For me, it’s also about continuing the heritage of making Japanese sweets. The homemade treat surpasses the store-bought version in flavor, texture, and freshness, especially if you use premium ingredients. Once you taste homemade, you can never go back to the mass-produced commercial kind. If you love matcha-flavored sweets, please give this Green Tea Mochi a try!
Other Recipes for Japanese Desserts
- Matcha Vegan Panna Cotta
- Strawberry Daifuku
- Dorayaki
- Mitarashi Dango
- Green Tea Ice Cream
- Mochi Ice Cream
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Green Tea Mochi
Video
Ingredients
For the White Mochi with Matcha Bean Filling
- ½ cup Homemade White Bean Paste (Shiroan) (3.5 oz)
- 1 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
- 6 Tbsp shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (1.8 oz)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 6 Tbsp water
For the Green Mochi with White Bean Filling
- ½ cup Homemade White Bean Paste (Shiroan) (3.5 oz)
- 6 Tbsp shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (1.8 oz)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp matcha (green tea powder)
- 6 Tbsp water
For Dusting
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. I use a kitchen scale to measure my ingredients.
To Prepare the Fillings
- In a small bowl, combine ½ cup Homemade White Bean Paste (Shiroan) and 1 tsp matcha (green tea powder).
- Using a small spatula or spoon, blend the paste and matcha until the mixture is homogeneous.
- Cover the bowl of matcha bean paste and the other bowl of ½ cup Homemade White Bean Paste (Shiroan) with plastic wrap. Freeze the bowls of paste for 30 minutes (or refrigerate for 60 minutes) to firm up the texture.
- After 30–60 minutes, take out the bowls.
- We‘ll start with the white bean paste first by dividing it into 3 portions. Wet your hands with water.
- Take 1 portion of the white bean paste into your hands and roll into a ball. Roll each of the other portions into a ball.
- Transfer to a plate. Don’t worry if they are not perfectly round.
- Now, we‘ll work on the matcha paste by dividing it into 3 portions. Wet your hands with water and take 1 portion of the paste into your hands.
- Roll each portion into a ball. Refrigerate until ready to use.
To Make the Mochi and Assemble
★ White Mochi with Matcha Bean Filling
- In a bowl, combine 6 Tbsp shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) and 2 Tbsp sugar and whisk well.
- Add 6 Tbsp water and whisk well until there are no lumps.
- Cover the bowl with a paper towel and microwave for 1 minute (my microwave is 1200W). If you do not have a microwave, you can steam the mixture. Please see the Daifuku recipe and video for the tutorial.
- Wet your silicone spatula with water.
- Mix the mochi dough so that it will be cooked evenly.
- Cover and microwave for an additional 30 seconds (or more/less depends on your microwave strength). The cooked mochi dough will look opaque.
- Spread some of the ½ cup potato starch or cornstarch well on a baking sheet. Remember, mochi dough will stick if the surface is not covered with starch. Transfer the mochi dough on top of the starch.
- Sprinkle some potato starch on top of the mochi dough and on your hands. Your hands must be well coated; otherwise, they will be very sticky.
- Use a dough scraper, divide the mochi dough into 3 equal pieces.
- If one is bigger than the other, cut off the edge and add to the center of the smaller dough. Flatten the dough into a circle shape.
- Place the matcha paste ball in the center of the dough. Bring all four corners of the dough over the ball.
- Bring the rest of the edges to the top.
- Pinch the seam line by pulling the mochi dough.
- If the dough is too sticky, tap the seam line with potato starch. If the dough is covered with too much potato starch, dust it off and pull the dough at the seam so the sticky surface appears and you can seal the seam.
- Once the seam is tightly closed, flip the mochi so the seam line is on the bottom. Twist the mochi a few times on your palm to reshape until even thickness.
- Repeat the same for the remaining white mochi dough.
★ Green Mochi with White Bean Filling
- In a bowl, combine 6 Tbsp shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) and 2 Tbsp sugar and whisk well.
- Add 1 tsp matcha (green tea powder) into the mixture and whisk well.
- Add 6 Tbsp water and whisk well until there is no lump.
- Cover the bowl with a paper towel and microwave for 1 minute.
- Wet your silicone spatula with water. Mix the mochi dough so that it will be cooked evenly.
- Cover and microwave for an additional 30 seconds (or more/less depends on your microwave strength). The cooked mochi dough will look opaque.
- Spread some of the ½ cup potato starch or cornstarch generously on a baking sheet. Remember, mochi dough will stick if the surface is not covered by the potato starch. Transfer the mochi dough on top of the starch. Sprinkle more starch on top of the mochi dough and on your hands. Your hands must be well coated; otherwise, they will be very sticky.
- Use a dough scraper, divide the mochi dough into 3 equal pieces. If one is bigger than the other, cut off the edge and add to the center of the smaller dough.
- Flatten the dough into a circle shape.
- Place the white bean paste ball in the center of the dough. Bring all four corners of the dough over the ball.
- Then bring the rest of the edges to the top and pinch the seam line by pulling the mochi dough. If the dough is too sticky, tap the seam line with potato starch. If the dough is covered with too much potato starch, dust it off and pull the dough at the seam so the sticky mochi surface will appear and you can seal the seam.
- Once the seam is tightly closed, flip the mochi so the seam line is on the bottom. Twist the mochi a few times on your palm to reshape.
- Repeat the same process for the remaining mochi dough.
To Serve
- Serve the Grean Tea Mochi at room temperature. It goes well with green tea or hojicha.
To Store
- The mochi will stay fresh for up to 2–3 days, but it‘s best to consume on the same day. On warm days, it‘s best to keep in the refrigerator. Make sure to individually covered so that the mochi will not become dry. You can freeze up to 2 weeks. Defrost first and enjoy or microwave for 10 seconds to make it softer.
