A popular classic spring dessert, Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku) is soft and springy shiratamako mochi stuffed with a fresh whole strawberry and sweet red bean paste. Make my recipe at home and indulge in this beautiful and delicious Japanese delicacy!
If you love juicy strawberries, sweet red bean paste, and chewy mochi, you will love this Japanese dessert Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku) (いちご大福).
Daifuku (大福) is a popular traditional Japanese sweet; it is soft mochi stuffed with sweet red bean paste. There are many varieties of Daifuku. They usually come with the same soft and chewy mochi exterior with different stuffing.
Modern Twist – Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku)
During the springtime, Japanese confectionery shops sell a seasonal Daifuku, Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku いちご大福), with a whole strawberry as the filling. The combination of fresh soft mochi, sweet red bean paste, and juicy and tart strawberry is a match made in heaven!
Strawberry Mochi was first created during the ’80s, so it’s considered a relatively new wagashi, like a traditional Japanese confectionery with a modern twist. Depending on regions and stores, some strawberry mochi has red bean paste filling while others use Shiroan (white bean paste). Some mochi comes with whipped cream and strawberry inside, instead of red bean or white bean paste.
As this seasonal mochi includes fresh strawberries, it is only offered during the strawberry season in Japan between winter and spring.
To Make Strawberry Daifuku
Today’s recipe is a classic strawberry daifuku. You can make your own red bean paste (recipe here) or use store-bought bean paste for a shortcut. The other ingredients are simple: shiratamako (glutinous rice flour), sugar, water, and corn starch. And fresh juicy strawberries of course! Smaller ones are easier to work with.
Making daifuku is very much like a craft. The process can be fun and meditative. When working with mochi dough, make sure that you do not stretch it too thin to prevent tearing. My daughter loves giving me a hand when comes to wrapping the sticky, elastic mochi around the berries when I make daifuku for them. It’s like working with edible play dough to her. Although her shaping skill still needs much improvement, she usually thinks her daifuku are the prettiest and tastiest. What can I say?
The daifuku keep well for a day or two in the refrigerator, although it can be hard to resist eating them all when made fresh. I hope you get to give these a try at home. Sweet, elegant, and delicate, Strawberry Daifuku is just another delicious way to celebrate the season.
Other Mochi Desserts Similar to Strawberry Mochi
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Strawberry Mochi (Ichigo Daifuku)
Ingredients
- 6 strawberries (smaller ones are easier to work with)
- 5.3 oz sweet red bean paste (anko) (I used store-bought koshian; you can make my recipe for homemade Anko or Pressure Cooker Anko)
- potato starch or cornstarch (for dusting)
For the Mochi Using a 100 g Shiratamako Package
- ¾ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour)
- 1½ Tbsp sugar
- 150 ml water (⅔ cup minus 2 tsp)
For the Mochi Using a 120 g Shiratamako Package
- 120 g shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (1 cup minus 2 Tbsp)
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- ¾ cup water
Instructions
- Before You Start: If you want to make more than 6 pieces, I highly recommend you to work in batches. If you do not have a microwave, please see Notes for other options to cook the shiratamako.
To Prepare the Strawberries
- Rinse, dry, and hull 6 strawberries. Divide 5.3 oz sweet red bean paste (anko) and roll into 6 same-size balls. Anko gets sticky on your hands, so wash and completely dry your hands each time you make a ball.
- Wrap each strawberry with the anko from one ball. Leave the tip of the strawberry uncovered. Wash your hands and dry completely each time you wrap a strawberry with anko.
To Cook the Shiratamako
- In a medium microwave-safe glass bowl, mix the shiratamako and sugar with a whisk. For a 100 g bag, mix 100 g or ¾ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) and 1½ Tbsp sugar. For a 120 g bag, mix 120 g shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) (or 1 cup minus 2 Tbsp) and 2 Tbsp sugar.
- Using a silicone spatula, slowly add the water in 3 parts—a total of 150 ml water (⅔ cup minus 2 tsp) for the 100 g shiratamako bag and ¾ cup water for the 120 g bag. Stir until the mixture has reached a thick consistency. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- First, microwave the mixture for 1 minute (for 1100W microwave). Mix well with a wet silicone spatula. The mixture is still whitish and floury.
- For a second time, microwave 1 minute again, and mix well with the wet silicone spatula. Now it starts to resemble mochi, but there are still some floury parts.
- For the last time, microwave only 30 seconds. Now the mochi mixture should look translucent.
- Sift the potato starch or cornstarch on the tray and put the mochi on top.
- With the silicone spatula or a kitchen scraper, fold the mochi in half one time so it won’t be as sticky. Then, divide into 6 equal pieces.
To Shape the Strawberry Daifuku
- Put some potato starch or cornstarch on your hands. Flatten and expand each mochi into a 3-inch (7.6-cm) round or square. Then, put the anko-covered strawberry on top of it, with the tip pointing down.
- Start gathering the mochi edges to cover the strawberry from all sides. Use your thumb to hold the gathered mochi on top.
- When all edges of the mochi meet at the top, twist and close the seam. Hold the mochi with both hands and form into a nice round shape. Place the daifuku seam side down on a plate with the strawberry tip pointing up. Repeat the process for the remaining mochi.
To Serve
- Serve at room temperature.
To Store
- Keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store at room temperature. Do not put in the refrigerator as the cold temperature makes the mochi hard. Consume within 2 days.
Notes
- Rice cooker: Put the ingredients in the bowl of the rice cooker and mix well. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the mixture is translucent. Mix with silicon spatula at least 2 times during cooking.
- Steamer: Put the ingredients in a heatproof bowl that fits inside your steamer. Mix well and cover with a thin kitchen towel or heatproof plate. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the mixture is translucent. Mix with silicon spatula at least 2 times during cooking.
I made it but I made with white bean paste, shiroan, but I have a question is it supposed to taste dough like??
Hi Keith, Thank you very much for trying this recipe. When you are done cooking in the microwave, how was the mochi mixture looks? Was it translucent at Step 8? It should be soft and chewy mochi and the time. We hope you can adjust the cooking time for your microwave and give it a try again.🙂
Thanks so much! Is it possible to toast this mochi in the way that you did with this other recipe of yours https://www.justonecookbook.com/how-to-enjoy-japanese-mochi/
And if so, would the instructions be the same? Thanks so much!
Hi Jen, This Daifuku is made from Shiratamako and less sticky than Japanese Mochi. The texture will not be the same as one Nami shows in the linked post “How to enjoy Japanese Mochi.” If you would like to toast it, we recommend using a frying pan, just like in this video: https://youtu.be/hOoD4o6aBSs?t=355
The toaster oven will not work well for the Daifuku Mochi. We hope this helps!
Will these still be soft and good if I put in fridge or freeze? Thanks
Hi Kristine,
If you put it in the fridge, the outside mochi will be harder so, please wrap it with plastic wrap.
You may also wrap it with plastic wrap and freeze it. However, the strawberry inside gets too wet when you defrost it, but it would be best if you defrosted it slowly in the refrigerator. You can also halfway defrosted and enjoyed the different textures of Daifuku as well.
We hope this helps!
Hi 🙂 May I ask if mashed red bean paste works too?
Hi, gt!
Sure! Please feel free to adjust the red bean texture!😉
This dessert looks divine it would make a definite crowd pleaser at any occasion.
Thank you for all your lovely recipies.
Hi Chandra,
Thank you very much!! You have no idea how much your kind words meant to us!
Hi Nami,
How can i make this if i dont have a microwave? is it possible 🙁
Sara
Hi Sara! You can steam it: https://www.justonecookbook.com/daifuku/ (Step 5)
I’m planning on making this soon, but every other recipe I’ve seen requires freezing the filling beforehand. Is this required for this recipe?
Hi Emma!
If you are using Anko, you do not need to freeze them.
We hope this helps!
Can I make these daifuku with mocha batter made from rice, or do I need to use the rice flour
Hi Seth! Do you mean matcha flavored mochi? Sure you can. You have to use GLUTINOUS rice flour (or sometimes called sweet rice flour), not rice flour. They are different things.
Hi Nami
I made this, it tasted great. My presentation needs work, but they were all eaten. For the anko around the strawberry – this is what I did. I remember my grandma making ohagi, and she used a piece of damp flour sack dishtowel. She spread the an on a piece of the dishtowel and then wrapped it around the mochi. I did the same thing for the strawberry. Saves washing your hands. 6 strawberries is the max before you have to rinse off the an and even then it sorta sticks to the flour sack. Towel can’t have loops, old fashioned flour sack towel.
I really enjoy your recipes!
Hi Kathleen! Thanks so much for trying my recipe! Ahhh that type of towel is called flour sack dishtowel (I never knew!!!). In Japan, we use 100% cotton Tenugui for doing this. I think it’s finer than flour sack dishtowel too. Thank you for sharing the tip with us!!
Do you have a picture of the brand/packaging of store-bought red bean paste that you used? Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Rachel! Hope you enjoy the recipe! Koshian here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/anko-red-bean-paste/
Hi Shy! Anyone who tries with mochi will have a hard time, that’s including me years ago! Practice makes perfect. Once you know what you’re dealing with (sticky mochi!!!) you know how to avoid touching, how to prevent it, etc. So next time you’ll be able to deal with it better. Trust me, you don’t want to see my very first daifuku mochi… 😉
Hi Nami,
I have a bag of shiratamko that’s 230g and if I divide by 2 it would give me 115g and how much sugar (gram) and water (ml) amount should I use?
If I make 2 batches using your 100g recipe then how can I use up the remaining 30g? By the way I have 2 bags of 230g of shiratamako, but of course 6 mochi/daifuku pieces are enough for 3 of us.
Hi Cristina! I would probably adjust my recipe slightly (so it’s 15% more). The amount of water is tricky, so gradually add to make the right “earlobe” texture. 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Thank you Nami. I will give it a try with a more cautious approach when it comes to the amount of water.
Good luck, and keep me posted. 🙂
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