Looking for a fun cooking project with your children? Try Mochi ice cream! The popular Japanese dessert is easier to make than you think. Imagine your kids smiling faces when they bite into their favorite ice cream inside the soft mochi shell.
Mochi Ice Cream is a popular dessert served in some Japanese restaurants in the U.S. and can be purchased in US grocery stores including Trader Joe’s and Costco. Have you had a chance to try? This delightful dessert with refreshing cool ice cream inside soft mochi shell is one of my family’s favorite, and not that hard to make at home yourself.
What’s the best part of homemade mochi ice cream recipe? You can put your favorite ice cream inside the mochi!
Watch How to Make Mochi Ice Cream もちアイスクリームの作り方
Refreshing and delightful dessert with your favorite ice cream wrapped in soft thin mochi shell.
I know you probably don’t believe me when I say it’s not that hard to make … but you have to trust me! If you follow the my tips below, you CAN make decent mochi ice cream even at the first try!
DOs:
- Keep your kitchen cool when you are working with ice cream.
- Get this cookie scoop (portioning scoop) for creating the same portions and nice half-round shaped ice cream for mochi filling.
- Use generous amount of potato/corn starch on your hands and working surface to prevent sticking.
- Use a cookie cutter (or small bowl) to cut out mochi into a round shape. Round shape (instead of square cut) seals the mochi neatly and avoid excess amount of mochi on the bottom.
- And here’s the secret tip! Wear thin latex gloves to insulate warm hands from ice cream and to prevent your hands from sticking to mochi.
DON’Ts:
- Do not take short cuts until you are comfortable with making mochi ice cream.
- Do not expect to make a perfect shape mochi ice cream for the first few trials. Working fast is the most important when dealing with ice cream.
Here are a few notes about the recipe.
- Shiratamako (白玉粉) vs. Mochiko flour (もち粉): I’ve tried making mochi ice cream recipe with both kinds of glutinous rice flour (also called sweet rice flour) but I have to say texture and flavor of mochi ice cream made with shiratamko is much better. To learn the difference between these two types of glutinous rice flour, please hop over to Shiratamako page to read more details.
- Steaming vs. Microwave: Both methods work well, and it’s really a personal preference. I usually make it with microwave because it only takes 2 and half minutes to cook mochi. My microwave is 1200W; make sure to adjust your microwave setting accordingly.
Once my children found out that I was making mochi ice cream recipe, they volunteered right away to taste test all the different flavors. My daughter’s favorite is strawberry and my son’s is vanilla. What’s your favorite?
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- ¾ cup Shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (¾ cup = 100 g) (See Notes)
- ¾ cup water (¾ cup = 180 ml)
- ¼ cup sugar (¼ cup = 55 g) (See Notes)
- ½ cup potato starch/corn starch (½ cup = 100 g)
- Ice cream of your choice
- ¾ cup Mochiko (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (¾ cup = 115g)
Gather all the ingredients.
- Using the cookie scoop, scoop out ice cream into aluminum/silicone cupcake liners. The ice cream will melt quickly so I recommend freezing them immediately for a few hours or until ice cream balls are completely frozen solid.
- Once the ice cream balls are frozen solid and ready, you can start making mochi. Combine shiratamako and sugar in a medium bowl and whisk all together.
- Add water and mix well until combined.
- Microwave Method: If you’re using a microwave to cook mochi, cover the bowl with some plastic wrap (do not cover too tight). Put the bowl in the microwave and heat it on high heat (1200w) for 1 minute. Take it out and stir with wet rubber spatula. Cover again and cook for 1 minute. Stir again, cover, and cook for 30 seconds to finish cooking. The color of mochi should change from white to almost translucent.
- Steaming Method: If you’re using a steamer, cover the steamer lid with a towel so the condensation won’t drop into the mochi mixture. Put the bowl into a steamer basket and cover to cook for 15 minutes. Half way cooking, stir with wet rubber spatula and cover to finish cooking. The color of mochi should change from white to almost translucent.
- Cover the work surface with parchment paper and dust it generously with potato starch. Then transfer the cooked mochi on top.
- To prevent from sticking, sprinkle more potato starch on top of the mochi. Once it’s cool down a bit, you can spread the mochi into a thin layer with your hands or with a rolling pin. Make sure to apply potato starch on your hands and the rolling pin. I recommend using a rolling pin because it’s easier to evenly spread out.
- Transfer the mochi with parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. Refrigerate for 15 minutes until the mochi is set.
- Take out the mochi from the refrigerator and cut out 7-8 circles with the cookie cutter.
- Dust off the excess potato starch with a pastry brush. If you find some sticky part, cover the area with potato starch first then dust off. Place a plastic wrap on a plate and then mochi wrapper on top, then lay another layer of plastic wrapper down. Repeat for all wrappers. With leftover mochi dough, roll into a ball and then flatten into a thin layer again and cut out into more circle wrappers (I could make about 12 mochi wrappers).
- Now we’re ready to form mochi ice cream balls. On the work surface, place one sheet of plastic wrap with a mochi layer on top. Take out one ice cream ball from the freezer and put it on top of the mochi wrapper. Pinch the four corners of the mochi layer together to wrap the ice cream ball.
- When mochi gets sticky, put some potato starch on the sticky area and seal the opening. Quickly cover with the plastic wrap and twist to close. Place each mochi ice cream into a cupcake pan to keep the shape. You will need to work on one mochi ice cream at a time in order to keep the ice cream frozen all times. Put mochi ice cream back into the freezer for a few hours. When you’re ready to serve, keep them outside for a few minutes until mochi gets soften a little bit.
Shiratamako and mochiko: These are glutinous rice flour (sometimes called sweet rice flour) made of Japanese short grain glutinous rice. More about it here.
Sugar: Do not omit sugar as it helps mochi stay softer.
Equipment you will need:
- 12 aluminum/silicone cupcake liners
- A cookie dough scoop (smaller than an ice cream scooper)
- A rolling pin
- 3.5 inch (9 cm) cookie cutter or a round bowl
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
I love mochi ice cream, but it’s so expensive in the stores. I can’t wait to this with homemade ice cream!
My husband and I love mochi ice cream! Yours look sooo great! Must try! Thank you for all the useful tips. Hopefully my kitchen won’t be too warm this coming week. 😀 Btw, enjoy your Japan visit.
Your mochi are so pretty, Nami! Love seeing the inside shots of the different flavors :).
Making this is my dream! Every time I go to Japan, I buy like, 20 billion boxes from a combini! Can’t wait to make these!!!!!
Hi Megumi! Haha you buy Yukimi Daifuku? It’s hard to resist. Hope you give this recipe a try! 🙂
Yes! It’s amazing!!! My #1 favourite!
This is amazing, Nami – I envy your kids. 😉 I tried making this with my green tea ice cream a few years ago on a very hot hot summer day and of course, it was a mess. lol… thanks for the step-by-step and tips on making the round sheets of mochi. I love that you used a cupcake tin to freeze the ice cream. SO smart!! I’ll have to attempt it again but will feel much better having your instructions handy.
oh, and my fave is the green tea, of course!
What a gorgeous ice cream creation. I’ve never even tasted mochi so it’s all special to me.
Can’t wait to try this! Have to find some shiratamako and wait for a cool day to make some!
Hi Donna! Hope you can find Shiratamako instead of mochiko. 🙂 Make sure to keep ice cubes around to keep the working surface etc cold… that will help a bit.
Cute ice cream balls. I’ve never had Mochi. What does it taste like? Is it like flour? Great video and recipe, they look like fun to make, and easy!
Hi Vicki! It’s hard to explain… Mochi itself is bland despite we sweeten a little bit with sugar. Usually it is filled with some sweet fillings (such as sweet red bean paste) or eat with other flavors. We enjoy the texture rather than flavor, I think. 🙂
I’m about a year and a half late, but perhaps someone else will find my description helpful. I would describe it like a marshmallow; it’s like having a marshmallow wrapped around a filling.
I can’t believe my eyes seeing this recipe posted. Thank you so much. It’s generally too expensive buying from the store and not as fresh ad homemade. I can’t wait to try your recipe. I gave a question though. So if I want to make this but not eat them immediately can I save them in the freezer for a long time? I wonder the thawing time before consumption too. Thanks again!
Hi Quyen! I’m happy to hear you like mochi ice cream and hope you like this recipe. You can save in the freezer for quite some time. Mochi can last for 1 year if you freeze them well. Ice cream – it’s up to if you use homemade ice cream or store-bought ice cream. Make sure to store well so that mochi doesn’t get freezer burn. It depends on how warm it is when you defrost outside (summer time vs winter for example) but I usually keep it out for 3 minutes before I try to cut in half (if I need to). Hope this helps!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I initially saw this post while sitting next to my sister, and she commented on how full and perfect your mochi ice cream looked. =) Definitely hoping to try out this fun recipe during this upcoming summer.
Thanks Kimmi and your sister! Hope you enjoy this recipe this summer! 🙂
These look so beautiful and well done! With your excellent tips and pictures/video, I might gain enough confidence to try one day. Every time I make treats involving ice cream, like dipping in chocolate to make “tartufo”, it is a dippy mess. But the idea of customizing these mochi with any ice cream I want is very enticing. Looks terrific!
I didn’t know you could get this at Trader Joe’s! I gotta look for it. This is fantastic stuff, and looks like fun to make. I’m with your kids — I want to sample every flavor you make! 😉 Fun stuff — thanks.
Mochi AND ice cream … wow must be so so nice!
I love mochi! This looks amazing, Nami!!! Can’t wait to make it! 🙂
Looks so delicious! Definitely want to try this out for summer!
http://youtube.com/addalittlefood
LOVE IT!!! Your photography makes this look dreamy and creamy; I can not wait to try it!
挑戦かもしりませんがこのもちアイスを本当に作りたいです。詳しいやり方どうもありがとう。
因にディズニー・シイも私のto-do listに書いております。
楽しんで下さい。
this is so awesome! i remember when i was still in singapore, i used to buy these mochi ice cream from the supermarkets.. they are so yummy! thanks so much! i have 2 bags of shiratamako sitting in my cupboard.. time to get busy!
How interesting! I have never seen such ice cream before 🙂
Looks super pretty! 🙂
I have never tried this ice cream before. You are so inspiring. It looks so good.
Nami, Nami, Nami…I love Mochi’s, and I used to ask for it ar Japanesse restaurants and always wonderig how they make it. You are the best!!!
Thanks for posting this!! I love mochi ice cream and never really thought about making it but now I can’t wait to try!! 😀
Thank you Josie! Hope you enjoy making these! 🙂
i have never really tried mochi ice cream..looks very interesting!
Great post Nami. I have made mochi, not hard but not easy to make look pretty at first lol. I should totally do some with the red bean paste ice cream I just made.
mmmmm seems yummy <3 mochi is my fave <3 <3 but i just wanna know, can i substitute shiratamako/mochiko with tapioca startch? or like Chinese glutinous rice flour?
Hi Jenny! I have never tried tapioca starch. In Japanese sweets (wagashi) we don’t really use tapioca starch, so Chinese glutinous rice flour is better choice (but it is different from Japanese mochi as rice used for flour is long rice, not Japanese short grain rice).
These look so pretty, Nami and they’re full of so much colour. I haven’t heard of them before but what a show-stopping dessert. My kitchen is freezing at the moment (due to a sudden drop in temperature and lack of sunshine and plenty of rain, rain and more rain) so now is a good time for me to experiment with this mochi. But not today – there’s a school fundraiser tomorrow and I have to bake for the cake stall! xx
Oh! A thousand times yes! We used to order some of these every time we ordered sushi. SO nice, especially on a summer evening when it’s so hot and you just want to sit and relax. We liked the fruit flavoured ones the most – mango, and strawberry were really lovely. Thanks for sharing the recipe – I bet my wife would have a surprise if I presented her with some of these one day!
I am a big fan of this ice cream, it looks so lovely! I only recently tried mochi balls but I am hooked on the flavour 😀
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
There’s no reason for delay in trying this! I can already imagine the soft texture of the mochi blending with the sweet, frozen ice cream of choice. An absolute YUM!
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
My mouth just watered up – I want all of it! And it’s SO interesting!!
Oh we just love Mochi Ice Cream and this recipe is a treasure! I can’t wait to make this for my family. Thanks for making it seem so easy, Nami. Hope you’re having a fun time in Japan!
do you know i could have 10 mochi ice creams all by myself.. i love it.
I need to try this ice cream! They look like little works of art and such a pretty presentation. 🙂
I absolutely love mochi ice cream and I am so grateful for the recipe…!! I also like the method you’re showing and I will definitely try your recipe in the future, especially because mochi ice creams tend to be so pricey. Thanks so much for sharing this with us, Nami :)!!
This is absolutely brilliant! I made some salted caramel ice cream earlier and I was thinking of mochi ice cream but these turned out beautiful! I have worked with mochiko flour before and placing frozen fillings in the dough is pretty challenging! Well done, Namiko! This is perfect, I want to make some soon! Thanks for the “DOs” tips, very helpful! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Oh Nami, I just saw those a couple of weeks ago on youtube and I was really thinking of trying it. I’ve even heard that I can make my own sweet rice flour by soaking rice first for 12 hours then grind them… not sure if this is gonna work or not.. what do you think? Your mochi ice cream looks lovely.
Hi Amira! I’ve never made my own sweet rice flour. As long as I know, the process takes quite bit of time and not sure if it’s worth the time? 🙂
Thank you Nami, I just tried looking for it in Target, Walmart…. etc but could not find it. I guess I have to go to an Asian store.
Where I am, the grocery store has Mochiko in the Asian or “International” aisle, if you have that. Also, if you have a gluten free/health food section, Bob’s Red Mill sells it as ‘Sweet’ Rice Flour.
If you can find the rice but not the flour, make it. Rinse the rice and drain and repeat until the water is more or less clear. Then let it sit 10-12 or even more hours. Then drain the water and let the rice dry so it isn’t wet still. Can take an hour or so. Then blend it with a blender or coffee grinder. Sift out the big pieces and repeat.
My friend and I shared a box of mini yukimi daifuku. Oishii!! By the way, I made your Japanese Cheesecake and Green Tea Chiffon Cake and they are both cooling right now. Thank you for the recipes!
Hi Asami! I love Yukimi Daifuku too! I’m so happy to hear you tried the Japanese Cheesecake and Green Tea Chiffon Cake! Hope you enjoyed them. 🙂
Never had mochi, so it’s completely new to me but sounds so intriguing! Love the way you wrap ice cream dollops. These look just perfect, so I hope to have a chance of tasting these one day!
These look so beautiful Nami! I love mochi and would never think to make it at home since I might mess it up. Yours are absolutely perfect and look so refreshing! Love the step-by-step pictures – they’re so helpful 🙂
A wonderful way of serving ice cream! I really love the idea. Divine!
Cheers,
Rosa
My family loves mochi ice-cream! However, the weather in Singapore has been scorching hot lately to make this now, will bookmark it first!
The way you’ve made mochi looks very similar to how we make rice balls 🙂 and ice-cream filling…to die for!
Could I have one of this delightful treats, please 🙂
You explained the preparation so well and step by step that I’m going to give this fantastic looking Ice cream a try.
My boys are home for summer and I know if they saw this they’d be begging me to make it! I have bought mochi from TJ’s but I never got the chance to try it because they ate it all before I got the chance 🙂 The step-by-step photos are so helpful for this one. Excellent instructions! Pinning to save for later!
Even if its winter here I would gladly eat a lot of those
Astonishing! I love those and never thought I can make them at home. The process looks quite complicated but your mochi ice cream has such a beautiful finish!
I really enjoyed watching your video. More and more professional now 🙂
Nami, I seriously love that you posted this. Mochi is actually my favorite kind of ice cream…got hooked on it when I lived in Hawaii. Thanks for the tips, because I’d really love to try this.
This is one of the most interesting recipes/techniques I have ever seen. I would love to taste them before I attempt to make them. You keep us on our toes Nami and that’s a good thing. Excellent video.
I have never heard, not to mention eating, mochi ice cream, but I would happily exchange my favourite traditional ice-cream for one of your beaufitul balls. (The green one is so enticing…). Thank you for one more amazing recipe (by the way, I think I have the same plate! I have also bowls with this pattern… brought from Japan last year 😉 ).
Oh how fun, I didn’t know I could make them at home so easily!
Ahhh this is simply THE BEST.
Wow! You have totally taken ice cream to the next level! Amazing job! 🙂
I just found mochi green tea ice cream at Trader Joes! What a great recipe to learn about! They do look fun to make for sure! Thank you for sharing, Hugs, Terra
Bobby and I love Mochi ice cream! The last time we went for sushi our waitress served us mochi green tea ice cream for free for being good customers. 🙂 What a great way to finish off a meal of sushi. Thanks for the detailed instructions and video on how to make this. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ll ever make, but it will certainly make me appreciate it more when I eat. 🙂
Hi
thanks for this recipe. I have a question, after i made them and freeze it ( because i could not finish all 12 at the time ) the flour got so hard. So can we keep it or have to eat all after we make ?
Hi Sujitra! It’s ice cream, so the flour will be frozen too, when you freeze the mochi ice cream. You need to let it defrost a bit before you serve/eat. You will need to freeze the mochi ice cream right after you make them because ice cream inside the mochi is still too soft (and could be runny). You need to solidify the ice cream (same concept for ice cream cake). Hope this makes sense. 🙂
You`re my hero, Nami. I super super LOVE mochi ice cream. It`s seriously one of my favorite foods, ever!! There`s a mochi gelato place where I live and I love going there because they have over 10 flavors! But, it`s so expensive. I LOVE how this isn`t as complicated as it looks. I must try this one day! Thanks!!
Thank you for this recipe!!!
Gonna attempt to make mochi ice cream this weekend!! But babe can you advice where can I get shiratamako / mochiko flour in Singapore?? 🙁
Hi Janelle! I wish I could tell where you can purchase…but I’ve never been to Singapore and have no idea where the Japanese grocery stores are. Shiratamako 白玉粉 should be easy to find if it is a big Japanese grocery store. 🙂
Thanks nami for your reply! I’ve got another question to ask.. normal sugar will do or need to use some specific sugar?
Hi Janelle! Yes, regular white sugar. 🙂
Nami, thank you so so much!! These look beautiful and I’m sure they taste great too. Can’t wait to try it at home. I really loved these pink sakura mochi that I tried in Kyoto last year, and I wonder if I could try and get a similar feel with these ice-cream ones using rose-flavoured ice-cream or something.. What do you think? 😀
Sakura Mochi uses glutinous rice (not glutinous rice flour) so you see the individual rice sticking together, different from these smooth texture outside. Therefore sakura mochi won’t taste good frozen. And the filling anko (red bean paste) won’t be good frozen unlike ice cream filling. I hope this makes sense. However I’m thinking in mind of traditional Japanese recipes… My feedback may not reflect one from others. 🙂
Hello Namiko, if I use steamer, the stove should low/med/high heat?
Thank you
Hi Bul! You need to keep having good steam – probably medium heat to medium heat will be the best. 🙂
Hi !
Thanks for a great recipe which ill definitely give it a try!
I was wondering how long may the Mochis stay in the fridge before the mochi gets stiff??
Hi Fanny! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Are you talking about Step 8 where I put the mochi into the fridge? It’s really just to cool down so that we can cut out into round shape. When it’s hot and very sticky, it’s very hard to cut out the mochi. I hope I understood your answer correctly. Don’t keep it in the fridge too long because it gets dry. 🙂
I stumbled across your site looking for recipes for gyoza wrappers and have navigated through to your mochi instructions. I LOVE mochi and can’t wait to make my own with my favorite flavors.
Your site is my new favorite and I look forward to browsing the rest of your recipes!
Hi Shannon! Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my blog. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this homemade mochi ice cream recipe!
Do you think the water would sub ok with coconut milk?
Hi S! Someone actually left a comment on my YouTube asking the same question. I’ve never tried making mochi ice cream using coconut milk, so I mentioned so, and the person actually went ahead and tried it.
The feedback was that it wasn’t as nice as regular mochi ice cream. Hope that helps!
Hi Nami,
I have a question about the portion, for the ingredients:
¾ cup (100 g) shiratamako (or ¾ cup (115 g) Mochiko/sweet rice flour)
¾ cup (180 ml) water
¼ cup sugar
½ cup (100 g) potato starch/corn starch
for the 3/4 cup measurements, i noticed it says two different weights for shiratamako and water, which one should i use? the 100g is weighed on the scale? or use 3/4 cup measuring cup? and the water is 180ml by weight?
for the potato startch, 1/2 up is more than 100g, which one should i use? the 1/2 cup or the 100g? i guess it’s less critical for the potato starch, as they are used for dusting.
thanks very much!
Hi Maria! Sorry to confuse you. 3/4 cup weighs differently with Shiratamako and Mochiko. I think I should have written 3/4 cup shiratamako (100g) or mochiko (115g).
3/4 cup = about 180 ml for liquid.
Potato starch should be about 1/2 cup more or less (and yes doesn’t have to be exact).
A lot of my readers prefer to use metric system so I have to weigh and use ml instead of cup measurement. Hope my response makes sense.
Our family love mochi ice cream, special my husband (that guy will give you anything for a mochi ice cream ball). My sister-in-law is a Japanese and I think I can impress her with this recipe. I can totally see her jaw drop when I serve this at dinner…hahaha! Thank you so much.
Hi Leanh! Haha yeah your sister-in-law will be very impressed! 😀 I hope you enjoy this recipe. It needs a bit of practice, but once you know what’s involved in the process, it’ll be easier. I hope my tips in the post will be helpful! 🙂
hai dear , can i have a question . is that granulated sugar or powder sugar? i hope u will reply coz im sooooo gonna make it this weekend ?
such a lovely blog . im a new fan 🙂
Hi Maya! It’s granulated sugar. I hope you enjoy! 🙂
Hello Nami! That’s look so fantastic! And I just finished making this. Took a lot of effort though. Cause the dough is wayyyy to sticky even after I add, like, a ton of extra corn starch. As much as I enjoy eating this, I don’t think I will make this ever again. 🙁
Hi Fitri! I know, it’s a quite bit of work and until you get used to making mochi in general, stickiness is always an issue. I kind of know how to avoid getting sticky (after testing the recipe many times) but it needs some practice. Although it’s fun and yummy, I won’t make it again unless someone asks or I’m so bored and there are mochi and ice cream. 😀
That looks so yummy and pretty! My favorite flavors are green tea and mango. I love mochi ice cream, but I don’t think I’d try to make it by myself.
Hi Jessica! I totally agree! It’s one of those things that you kinda want to challenge yourself to make (because in my case, readers wanted to know how to make these as they can’t find in their country)… I can get these in my local Asian/Japanese stores or even trader joes so I’m happy with the store bought ones. Homemade is great but this one requires some effort. 😉 It was fun making them though and ate quite a bit while testing recipes! =P
I tried following the recipe but the mocha turned out green instead of white or translucent.
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! How come your mochi turned to be “green”? What kind of glutinous rice flour did you use? Was it shiratamako or mochiko?
I used shiratamako. Also, I did not see this comment so I posted another one by accident.
Hi Susan! Thank you so much for getting back to me. I did extensive research on shiratamako turning into green color but I can’t find any incident online (Japanese websites). I’m sort of lost and I don’t know why yours turn into green… steamed or microwaved? Does your bowl (that used for cooking shiratamako) has some color on it? I try to figure out why but it’s so strange this happens…. I truly wish to help you, but I’m sorry but I really don’t know…
Even though the mochi is green, is it still edible?
Hi Susan! It’s really hard for me to say as I’m not sure why it’s green. Do you still have it? I can take a look if you can send me a photo too. I am not comfortable saying it’s okay to eat since I have never seen green mochi from shiratamko…sorry.
I think she added mocha powder, that’s why it’s green
I’m not sure, as she didn’t mentioned that she added matcha… that will be very obvious reason. 🙂
Hi, I’m wondering, after cutting the circles, can I combine the extra mochi to make more circles? Or what do you do with the extra after you cut the circles?
At 4:50, that’s what I’m doing – using extra to make more circles. 🙂
I love mochi ice cream, I tried this recipe, your explanation and video were super helpful! After I put the mochi ice cream back in the freeze the mochi is super hard, is this normal ?
Hi Diana! Yes, it’s normal. You have to let it defrost a little bit before you eat/serve. The mochi we purchase from the store are very soft because the ratio of higher sugar amount in shiratamako in order to achieve that soft texture when frozen or room temp. For home use, I kept the sugar amount low to be healthier. If you like the mochi to be soft, increase the raito – for store bought ones, it’s 1:2. Hope that helps!
So if I would like to keep all of the other measurements the same but make the mochi softer by adding more sugar, could I add 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 1/4? Would that alter the consistency of the mochi?
Hi Jenna! I looked up in Japanese – it says for mochi like this, the amount of sugar can be half to equal weight as the cooked mochi. So this recipe is good (100g : 55g), or you can increase the sugar to be 1/2 cup (100g : 110g). 🙂
Thanks so much! I will be trying this recipe today 😄
Hi Jenna! Hope it came out well! 🙂
Is it possible to substitute another starch for the potato starch? I am all out right now but really want to make these, can I use tapioca starch or corn starch instead? Will either of those negatively affect the mochi too much?
Thank you!
Hi Sharon! Corn starch is a good substitute, not sure with tapioca starch (are they edible without cooking?).
I had a similar question to Sharon’s. Right now I have to have a very limited diet and potato and corn are both not part of it. 🙁 So I was wondering if I could use more rice flour to keep the dough from sticking, or else tapioca starch or arrowroot starch? Tapioca (cassava) and arrowroot starch are both edible raw. Do you think one or the other of those (or else more rice flour) would be better?
Thank you so much for your help and for your recipe – I love, love, love green tea mochi ice cream and with this limited diet I can’t have it unless I make it at home!!
Hi Lulu! I see. I have never used any flour other than potato or corn starch for rolling mochi and even store bought mochi is coats with either of them. I think rice flour needs to be cooked and not sure you can use it to coat the mochi and straight to eating… Someone told me (either here or YouTube) she used tapioca starch and didn’t work. I wish I can give you a good substitute but I don’t know what else would be good for substitute. Do you think you can find the info at health specialized website or forum?
Nami, the potato and corn starch can be eaten raw? Thanks!
Hi Vivian! Yes. 🙂
Hi, love the blog and the video on how to make mochi ! I was just wondering how many mochi balls were you able to make?
Hi Elizabeth! It’s 12 pieces. YouTube video is just to show the quick method, and I usually write detailed directions on the website. Please see the directions above. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
What should the steamer be set on? High, medium, or low?
Hi Taiga! Once it’s steaming, you can lower the heat to low or medium low, but make sure it’s still simmering. 🙂
I just made this, and while it was as ugly as you could possibly imagine, it turned out great as a treat for a friend 🙂 will get that cookie scoop to make things prettier the next time, and avoid using softer ice cream, the softer flavour melted <.<
cheers and thanks for the recipe!
Hi Sien! Next time will be prettier as you know what to do instead of trying to understand the directions while you’re actually making it. 🙂 Having a cookie scoop in the kitchen is great! I use it to make meatballs (so all same size!) and scoop the batter (same amount) etc. 🙂 Scooped ice cream needs to remain in a ball shape so we can wrap the mochi around it. 🙂 Thank you for your feedback! xo
I’m so happy to see a mochi ice cream recipe! Yours looks so good! Can’t wait to make this recipe. Is the potato starch only to prevent sticking? Or is some added to the bowl before cooking?
Hi Dina! So sorry for my late response – I was traveling and couldn’t get back to you sooner. Yes, we only use potato starch to prevent from sticking. 🙂 Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Hi Nami. Do I need to cook potato or cornstarch before using this Mochi ice cream recipe? Please reply. Thanks so much.
Hi Isabella! Nope, no need to cook potato/corn starch. When you eat store-bought mochi, you’re actually eating it (without realizing it). 🙂
From the response you gave below, if we want the mochi to be soft like the store bought ones. The ratio is 1:2. Does this mean 1 part shiratamako and 2 parts sugar? For your recipe above, I would use 100 g of shiratamako and 110 g of sugar then? Please clarify for me. Thanks.
Hi Ann! No, sugar should be half of shiratamako. 🙂
all of the pictures were so helpful! i tried making it twice with other recipes and they didn’t come out well (the first one i undercooked, and the second time the ice cream just melted everywhere). it still wasn’t easy or quick (that’s just the nature of this i think), but it was so satisfying to finally conquer it! (:
Hi Heather! I’m glad the pictures were helpful. 🙂 Thanks so much for your kind feedback!
Hey namiko,
Is it alright if food colouring is put into the mixture or will it have any effect on the mochi??
Thanks, your recipes are the best! XD
Hi Jenny! Sure! You need to put it in the mixture before microwaving/steaming. No affect. It’ll be pretty color! 🙂 I’m happy to hear you enjoy my recipes. Thank you!
Hi what is the size of oxo cookie scoop you use (small, medium, large)?
Thankd
Hi Ivy! I just went to my kitchen and found out that it’s 1 1/2 Tbsp. I have two sizes, but I’m pretty sure this is the right one. 🙂
Hello,
I’ve followed your instructions, but I think I might have over-microwaved the mochi. It was difficult to wrap the ice cream because the mochi wasn’t sticking to close 🙁
Hi Rod! My microwave was 1100W when I made this recipe (now it’s 1400W), so maybe your microwave is stronger?
The purpose of potato/corn starch is help your hands not stick to the mochi but you might want to brush off the mochi where you need to pinch to close. 🙂
Did you use granulated sugar?
Hi Claire! I use granulated sugar. 🙂
What cups/units did you use? Metric cup? United States ‘legal’ cup? Japanese cup?
I live in the U.S. so for cup, I use American measuring cup – 240 ml = 1 cup.
What do you mean by “when mochi gets sticky”? I’ve found that mochi isn’t very sticky at all once it’s cooled down.
Hi Sara! When mochi gets extended (by pulling in order to wrap), there will be some parts that are “new” surface. That new mochi surface is sticky as it is not covered by potato starch. Not everywhere, but it’s possible it gets sticky on the new surface… Sorry my English is not good to explain the situation very well.
Hello! My little brother is wanting me to put chocolate ice cream in the mochi. I’m not sure that it’s a good idea, as chocolate is a very over powering flavor. In you opinion would this flavor be alright?
Hi Emma! There are chocolate mochi ice cream:
http://www.mochiicecream.com/mochi-ice-cream/chocolate-mochi-ice-cream/
My son likes it. I think mochi is for you to enjoy the texture, not so much about flavor. So it’ll be okay! 🙂
Hello, i tryed the mochi after this receipt. However, while unfreezing (5 min) the mochi, the dough is still pretty firm to bite. Do I have to wait longer until the dough gets soft again or did I make some error?
Hi Nohz. Hmmm hard to tell from what you wrote… Did you use glutenous rice flour (sweet rice flour)? It shouldn’t be too hard. Depends on season/where you live, 5 mins may not be enough to get soften on outside (but inside ice cream is still hard).
Hey Nami, thanks for the fast reply. I used Kimura Usagi Rice Flour (from japancentre.com) – On their description says it is the same as shiratamako. Is it different? :S I will try waiting a little bit longer, see what happens.
I am from Austria and we do not have mochiko or shiratamako explicitly. Do you have an idea how i can get it in Austria/Europe?
Hi Nohz! I don’t know a store that ships internationally, but I’m asking this company to sell shiratamako and ship internationally… once they can, I’ll inform in my newsletter. I know so many people are waiting for shiratamako. Mochiko is easily accessible on Amazon (http://amzn.to/29zllew) in the US.
Shiratamako is NOT rice flour. Shiratamako is made from glutinous rice flour (or sweet rice flour). We use this sticky rice for making mochi, and certain dish. Mochiko is also made from glutinous rice flour.
Rice flour is made from regular rice – the rice we eat everyday in Japan. Not sticky rice (glutinous rice).
Rice flour has several kinds too, but most common one is Joshinko.
Hope this helps!
I absolutely LOVED these!! Such a wonderful texture to go with ice cream, I made it with Mediterranean vanilla bean gelato!
Hi Carol! Awesome! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! Oh my vanilla bean gelato!! I’d love that! 🙂
Are these supposed to taste good? My family thought they were extremely unappetizing. We were not sure if we were supposed to eat them raw or deep fry the little balls? This way a buy we will never forget!
Hi Jessica! My first question for you is if you like Japanese mochi or any type of mochi dessert.
If you don’t like that kind of mochi texture (there is nothing like that to explain the texture, which is why we call it “mochi texture”), I doubt you like mochi + ice cream combination, even you enjoy ice cream.
Mochi ice cream is a heaven for mochi lovers. You eat this because you love mochi, not because you love ice cream. 🙂
My second thought was that I hope you had a GOOD quality mochi ice cream at least… mochi has to be chewy and soft. enough that melts in your mouth (after chewing).
Some Americanized Japanese restaurants deep fry mochi ice cream, but that’s not very Japanese style. I can’t imagine eating it. But I guess it’s popular in the US? I’m not sure as I haven’t tried it.
Hi, Nami. Thank you for this recipe. Can’t wait to try it! Is there a particular length of time you can store the mochi in the freezer? Do they lose texture, freshness, etc if stored in a deep freezer?
Hi Adam! It’ll be hard, but you can bring back to soft texture by defrosting it for a few minutes. It should be okay for 4 weeks. But make sure to store in air-tight package and don’t let the skin dry out. 🙂
Were you able to find the rice flour in a regular grocery store (like Kroger or Wal-Mart) or is this something I’ll need to order online. Sorry if this seems like a stupid question but since I’ve never looked for it I’m not sure about where to buy it.
Hi Meagan! I live close to several Japanese grocery stores so I can get the glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour) easily. You can find Mochiko in some American grocery stores here in the Bay Area, but you might need to look for it online if you don’t see it.
http://amzn.to/2pPC7Mk
I am going to try your mochi ice cream recipe tonight! want to use Mango sorbet for starters! I work in the same building as Kikkoman Headquarters and their products are the best AND employees are fantastic people.
Hi Terry! I hope you enjoy(ed) the recipe! It’s a lot of work but once you know how to make, it gets easier… Ohhh mango sorbet inside mochi! I want some. 😀 So nice to hear you enjoy Kikkoman products. 🙂 Kikkoman team I work with are all nice people too!
Hey! I am so excited to try this. I was wondering… When you see mochi flavored with green tea, strawberry, peanut butter, etc, is the mochi just died or do they flavor it, or both?! I am planning on making huckleberry mochi so if i flavored it, it would be with the juices, What do you recommend? How much of food coloring/flavor?
Hi Mariah! I’d say majority of mochi ice cream use food coloring, but if you make it at home you don’t have to. Use juice to color the mochi at step 4. Adjust the amount of extract as you add. 🙂
Hey, I went for it. It was absolute carnage. Mochi everywhere. I loved it! It is beautifully soft and incredibly satisfying. I cant wait to try again with chocolate mochi and peanut butter ice cream! Great recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Mariah! Thank you for your feedback. Haha, I know, it’s pretty sticky isn’t it. I guarantee the second time is much easier as you know what to do. 🙂 Oh wow that combination sounds delicious!
If you make the chocolate mochi, would you mind sharing your process? I want to make chocolate mochi, but I can’t find a recipe anywhere, and the ingredients for this is not exactly easy to come by for me, so I can’t afford to mess up ????.
Hi Liz! I noted myself. Thank you for your request! 🙂
Can I add dye to mochi to give similar color of ice cream?
Hi Caitlin! Sure!
my mochi ended up rock solid. I didn’t put any sugar in it – I just sweetened it with a little bit of stevia . Could the lack of sugar being causing to freeze up?
Hi Sandra! Oh… yeah we can’t skip sugar for mochi as I noted in my Notes section. It is the only ingredient to keep the mochi soft. Without it, it will be rock hard and won’t stay soft. Sorry…
Hi Nami, thanks for the recipe, I will try it this weekend! I’m in SF as well, which Japanese grocery store do you get your Shiratamako? The one on Webster St? Thanks!
Hi MJ! I’m terribly sorry for my late response. I’m usually good at responding in a quick manner, but I’ve failed this time. I go to Nijiya in San Mateo for most of my grocery items. Same Nijiya in SF, so you should be able to find same stuff as ones I buy. :
No worries, thanks for replying! I will check out the Nijiya in San Mateo next time I’m near there! Thanks!
You’re welcome. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
I made the Mochi ice cream and freeze them , when I took it out it was stone hard, when I had it in Japanese shop, it was very soft , please tell me why ? Thanks
Hi John! In general, homemade ones tend to be harder because mochi has much less sugar compared to store-bought one. Sugar makes the mochi tender and softer. You have to defrost it for several minutes (but inside the ice cream will be still frozen as the mochi is still cold). Hope that helps!
Mochi Soup or sweet Elmer’s Glue?
” ¾ cup Shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (¾ cup = 100 g) (See Notes)
¾ cup water (¾ cup = 180 ml)”
Seriously way too much water. I had to add 4 times the flour to bring the recipe back. Now I have 4 times the dough.
Hi Sam! Did you steam or microwave afterwards (Step 5 or 6)? Check my video above around time – 0:56. You see how liquid it is? Then you will cook the mixture. This is very common way to make mochi (gyuhi). I think you did not cook, that’s why you think it’s liquid and need to add more flour… because after being cooked, it’s already sticky and no more liquid. Hope this helps!
This is the most helpful website I have found it is for all flavors of mochi and tips and tricks to make it right
Hi Callie! Thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
For shiratamoko u have 3/4 cups as 100g but then later you wrote 1/2 of potato or cornstarch equals 100g so one of them is wrong
Hi Me! 1 cup of feather is different weight (gram) from 1 cup of sand. It’s the same theory…. 100 gram of shiratamako and 100 gram of potato starch are different volume.
Hope that makes sense? The recipe is correct. 🙂
Can i store the already cooked mochi dough in the fridge?
Hi Edis! Yes you can but it might become hard… I recommend wrapping or using it sooner though. It should be okay at room temperature too. 🙂
My daughter and I tried to make this yesterday and it was a disaster. We followed the instructions to the letter. Ah, well. She wanted mochi ice cream for her birthday party next weekend, will have to buy some instead.
Hi Butch! Thank you for trying this recipe and I’m sorry it didn’t work out.
Which part was difficult or ended up failing? I would not say this recipe “easy” until practicing 2-3 times at least as mochi is SO STICKY and I had to learn how to work with it. By my third trial, I know how to work with it from previous experience, so it was getting easier and what to expect. We just can’t touch mochi without having potato starch well coated, but when it’s too much coating, you need to remove it to make it sticky to close the seam… Many JOC readers had tried this recipe since I shared this recipe and made it work. If you decide to try again, please let me know so I can give more tips or instructions on where you needed more help. Thank you again!
Can you flavour the mochi rice dough? And if so what would recommend to use to flavour it and how much would you use? For example would you had a fruit powder or could you add a vanilla essence?
Hi Kylie! Sure you can do that. Add the flavor ingredient BEFORE you cook mochi. You can puree fruits and add it (but control the water amount) or use fruit powder (I’ve never used it) if you like. Never thought of vanilla essence for mochi, but sure, you can do that too. 🙂
Ok here I go! I’m giving it a go! Expecting a disaster from reading thru all the comments etc! Lol! But I’ll give it 3 times before giving up! Just like you said! Cause it’s WAY TOO AMAZINGLY awesome to not try it at home!! Too expensive in stores! Wish me luck!
Mrs Jones! Good luck, and just remember that mochi is SUPPOSED TO BE very sticky and hard to handle. And when you practice enough, you know how to handle it… but till then, it can be “difficult”. Make sure potato starch (or corn starch) is on your hands and mochi. Remember that new sticky surface appears when you pull mochi. It’s needed to be sticky when you close the mochi (which is why it’s best not to put too much powder). Otherwise, mochi should be thinly coated with potato starch all times. If you’re not sure at any step, take a pic and let me know. Some JOC readers succeeded at first trial, but I had to try several times before mochi ice cream looks representable. 🙂 So don’t be too hard on yourself too. More mochi ice cream for you to enjoy at home! Good luck!
Yeah!!!!! I did it first try!
Here they are…2 gone already because I just couldn’t help myself! Ha!
The only problem I had was that I was glad that I had spread out the first roll out of Mochi, with my rolling pin big enough to cut out all of my 12 cutouts, because I couldn’t get the leftover Mochi to stick back together after that. I think at that point I had too much cornstarch out on it, so it wasn’t even thinking about forming back into a ball. Oh well! I used it at the end, instead. (This is bad of me but this is how much I love my “new found go-to”, Mochi…)…I used up the leftover Mochi pieces by popping them in my mouth followed by a spoonful of ice cream! Lol! (2+ larger size of jeans, here I come! Ha!) Thank you soo much for your recipe post, your quick reply of encouragement, and for Rocking! Cause you do! My new favorite blog!!
Hi Mrs Jones! So sorry for my late response. Thanks so much for your feedback and kind words. The leftover mochi can be cut up into cubes like frozen yogurt topping (have you seen these?). Next time you can sprinkle whenever you eat ice cream. Well, but I’m like you… just pop in both and enjoy instantly! 😀
I’m so happy to find a new mochi loving JOC friend! 🙂 Thank you again for trying my recipe!
I love your explanation bcause it easy to understand and recommendation.Btw I just know that sweet rice flour is as known as glutinous rice flour . Thank you for the information and I will try this recipe.
Hi Katherine! I’m glad you like the blog post. Hope you like the recipe! Good luck!! P.S. Just heads up… practice makes perfect when it comes to mochi making… 🙂
I only have oven in my house. So what temperature should i use and for how long it takes?
Hi Mimi! I’m sorry but the oven doesn’t work. Please use a steamer method if you don’t have the microwave. 🙂