Warabi Mochi is a chilled, chewy, and jelly-like mochi made of bracken starch. Dusted with nutty roasted soybean flour and drizzled with kuromitsu syrup, this Japanese confection makes a beautiful and refreshing summertime snack or dessert.
I usually spend my summers in Japan with my children, and that’s when they explore new Japanese foods that are not always available in the SF Bay Area. Warabi Mochi (わらび餅) was their new “discovery” this year and I’ve enjoyed making it at home after we came back.
What is Warabi Mochi?
If you haven’t heard of Warabi Mochi (わらび餅), don’t worry, you’re not alone. There are many types of “mochi” in Japan, and this is just one of them. And unfortunately, this type of mochi is not so well-known outside of Japan. Maybe it’s due to the lack of available ingredients to make them.
Warabi Mochi is made of warabi starch or bracken starch. Warabi/bracken is a type of fern, and the starch comes from the rhizomes (underground stem).
Unlike typical mochi made from glutinous rice, warabi mochi’s texture is more jelly-like and it’s chewy yet dissolves quickly. Because it is clear and looks refreshing, warabi mochi is often enjoyed in the summertime.
What does it taste like? Believe it or not, it has almost no flavors – the only thing you taste is the sweet toasted soybean flour or kinako and the kuromitsu (黒蜜, brown sugar syrup). Sometimes red bean paste is wrapped inside the warabi mochi too.
2 Types of Starch used in Warabi Mochi
Making this dessert is the easy part. The hard part is getting the main ingredient – warabi/bracken starch. Most likely typical Asian grocery stores won’t carry it so you’ll need to check Japanese grocery stores. There are 2 types of warabi/bracken starch.
Hon Warabiko (本わらび粉) – Warabi 100%
This is the pure starch from warabi (but please read the next section for more details). It’s very expensive because it’s difficult to harvest, and only a small amount of the roots (just 5%) becomes starch. It is also very time-consuming to process it into powder. If it’s made from hon warabiko then the price is usually very expensive.
Warabi mochi made with 100% warabi/bracken starch is more brownish or blackish color. The package comes in clay-colored pebbles (not powders). If you refrigerate warabi mochi, it gets hard. Therefore, true warabi mochi is stored at room temperature all times and it only lasts for a day.
Warabi Mochiko (わらび餅粉) – Made of other starch
The majority of warabi mochi that you can purchase is made with other starch, not warabi starch. If you look at the ingredients, it should say sweet potato starch (甘藷(サツマイモ)澱粉) or tapioca starch (タピオカ澱粉). Warabi mochiko is more reasonably priced, and you will probably find this type in a Japanese grocery store.
Where To Buy Warabi/Bracken Starch
The Warabi starch I used for this recipe is “warabi mochiko”, the sweet potato starch type.
While I was researching where you can buy bracken starch, I found out that you can get “hon warabiko” (本わらび粉, 100% warabiko) on Amazon here and here. However, I’ve also read that because there is no regulation, a lot of places sell the mixture of warabiko and other starch as “hon warabiko”. So keep in mind that it might not be 100% bracken starch even though the box says so, especially if it’s a relatively affordable price (but it’s more expensive than warabi mochiko).
If you’re looking for kinako, toasted soybean flour, you can find a really good quality one from Hokkaido, Anything From Japan ships internationally, or here on Amazon.
For kuromitsu syrup, you can purchase it here on Amazon. Or, you can make it with an equal part of brown sugar and water to make the syrup.
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Warabi Mochi
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warabi mochiko or warabiko (bracken starch) (you can substitute potato or tapioca starch, but the consistency will be different)
- ½ cup sugar (the ratio of warabi mochiko to sugar is usually equal, but you can reduce the sugar to ⅓ cup or 80 g if you use a generous amount of kuromitsu syrup)
- 1¾ cups water
For the Toppings
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients. Sprinkle some of the ¼ cup kinako (roasted soybean flour) on a baking sheet.
- In a medium saucepan, combine ¾ cup warabi mochiko or warabiko (bracken starch), ½ cup sugar, and 1¾ cups water. Mix all together.
- Heat the mixture over medium heat until it starts to boil.
- Then, reduce the heat. Using a wooden spatula, stir (more like beat) constantly and vigorously for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and evenly translucent. It’s quite a workout, but be patient! It’ll eventually transform into a clear color.
- Remove the mochi from the heat and pour it onto the baking sheet covered with kinako (soybean flour). Sprinkle more kinako on top. Let it cool in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
To Serve
- Once it’s cooled, take it out from the refrigerator. Transfer the mochi to a cutting board and slice it into ¾-inch (2-cm) cubes. Toss the Warabi Mochi with more kinako and serve on individual plates. If you‘d like, drizzle kuromitsu (black sugar syrup) on top. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can store it at room temperature for 1–2 days. Warabi mochi will get hard and turn a white color if you store it in the refrigerator. Warabi mochi is tastier if you chill it in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes before serving. If you use real warabi starch, it lasts only for a day and must be enjoyed soon. If warabi starch is mixed with other starch, it lasts longer, but the color is not as clear.
I made it with oat flour instead of soybean powder and it has the same texture but less flavor. It was really good and it turned out well though
Hello, Bella! We are really happy to hear that the oat flour worked well for you!
Thank you for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your experience with us. Happy Cooking!
Used cornstarch for this and not sure why but its so hard.. when I took it out of the fridge after about 30min it was so solid not sure what went wrong so disappointing and not chewy at all 🙁 did I cook it for too long? not sure how to tell when its done
Hi scw, Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe. We’re sorry to hear that this recipe didn’t work out for you.
If you use the cup measure, we recommend using the weight measure to ensure you have the correct amount of ingredients. When the mixture is thick and equally transparent, it is time to stop cooking.
We hope this helps!
Hi Naomi and the team ! I’m wondering if you can freeze warabi mochi ? It’s so sad that it only lasts for one day… Thank you so much for your feedback on that point
Hi, Lucie! Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe!
We do not recommend freezing the Warabimochi when you use Warabiko because it loses its texture when it freezes. If you use Tapioca starch, you can freeze them after cutting them into cubes. Wrap each one in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container. Then freeze them.
It is best to thaw it in the refrigerator before you serve it.
We hope this was helpful!
Hi, I wonder how the warabi mochi from the shops/Don Don donki can be stored in the fridge for a few days. Can I do that with this recipe as the temperature here is hot (33 celcius) and I am afraid the warabi mochi will spoil if not refrigerated.
Hi Jessie! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
For homemade Warabi Mochi, we recommend keeping it at a cool temperature. You may use ice under the Warabi mochi or place the tray in the cold water to keep the temperature lower.
We hope this helps!
This actually looks a bit like those square candies, wrapped in rice paper, in a rectangular box. If memory serves the box is red and has a picture of a Buddha or a child on it. I think the squares are possibly around the same colour as the dessert in this post?
Is this the same, just in a different size? Those candies were my absolute favourite as a kid!
Hi Liv! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
This Warabi Mochi is very soft and is more like a jelly-like mochi. The ones wrapped in rice paper are different. Of course, those candies are delicious too. 🙂
Thank you for this recipe, it brings back such good memories of living in Kyoto. Warabi mochi was my favourite summer treat. There was a small stall in the Kyoto suburb we lived in, just a large wooden counter at the sidewalk where the lady would make one batch of warabi mochi for the day and then close once it was all sold. They were very dark coloured cubes that when you put it in your mouth, you felt a much cooler temperature, then it literally melted in your mouth. Perfect for the hot Kyoto summer!!!
I never thought to even try making this once we moved away because of the difficulty finding and the high cost of the braken starch. But I think I will try looking for warabi mochiko at our local Korean &Japanese grocery store. I have bought regular mochiko there before.
Thank you for all your delicious recipes!!!
Hi Lisa, Thank you very much for your kind feedback and for sharing your good memories! We hope you can find the Warabi mochiko at your local store and enjoy the homemade Warabi Mochi soon!😊
Really good, just like those fr don don donki! Tks for your recipes!!
Hi Sin, We are glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback!
!!! I had warabi mochi once, when I was in Japan on an exchange trip – my exchange family had it for dessert on our second night there, it was delicious. I’m so glad to have found a recipe for it I can try!! Also I just love your blog in general, your recipes are always super clear and easy to follow, and delicious. I’m so excited to try and make this when I can get some warabiko 😀
Hi Danny! We are so glad to hear you fond this recipe! We hope you can get Warabiko soon to try this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback.☺️
This is so freaking good. I just made it. I can eat this all day long. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Kristine, Thank you very much for trying this recipe and your feedback! We are glad you enjoyed this Mochi!
Hi ! I just wanted to ask if i could use this recipe for matcha and black sesame warabi mochi as well ? If so, how much do i add ? And are there any steps that are different ?
Thank you !
Hi Wen,
Thank you very much for your kind feedback.
Yes. You may add matcha or black sesame to this recipe. However, we have not tested it yet.
Please let us know how it goes!
Just tried it last night after a friend recommended this recipe. Turned out ace and really easy to follow. Thank you so much!
PS. Any tips for pouring it out evenly?
Hi Osmanthus Tea! I’m so glad to hear that! If you see my step 5, you can tell I collected the warabi mochi in a corner of the pot first before tilting. This helps to “transfer” from the pot to the baking sheet in one go, so it’s easier to shape into a square when you scrape off from the pot. 🙂
Made this yesterday and it came out perfect!
I’m not sure if it’s because the warabimochi flour I bought from Isetan had real warabiko in it, but my mixture had not started boiling but I noticed lumps were already forming when I stirred it. So I decided to just immediately lower the fire to low and start stirring with a large metal spoon for 10 minutes. I did use lesser sugar (60 gm sugar for 80 gm of warabimochi flour) and topped with kinako powder only but it definitely needed more sweetness. So I won’t be skimping on the sugar next time or I’ll eat it with kuromitsu.
Because of the gluey texture of the warabimochi, it wasn’t the easiest task to wash my pot and spoon but I found pouring boiling water into them and letting them soak for a while helped tremendously.
Hi Jessica! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and I’m so glad you enjoyed it. When sugar dissolves, it provides moistures to the flour, so it might help to remove lumps. You may want to adjust and see if increasing a bit of sugar may help with that. Yes, anything mochi is hard to wash, but soaking definitely releases everything with a quick brushing. 🙂
Found this recipe while obsessing over all the cute cartoon warabi mochi posts on Instagram, I’ll have to try it. I’d love to make a cute version, too, though – do you know how / what the face and details are drawn onto those cute characters?
Hi Terri! Hmmm, in order to write/draw, I feel like you have to cut into a bigger place. The mochi itself is not sturdy (imagine it’s jello-like but even more pliable)… so I actually don’t know how you can draw it on top of warabi mochi…
Hi Nami-san,
I’ve been following your blog for many years and made countless japanese cookings from your recipes. They are delicious and almost always easy to make! If there were few failures, almost always because I didn’t read the recipes and/or instructions correctly.
I’ve been a frequent visitor to Japan for over 20yrs and this particular mochi is my favorite. Strangest thing is, I just learned the name a few weeks ago 😅😅
Probably because I never have enough confidence to try to make japanese sweets.
Anyway, I’m so happy to have come across this recipe. I will try with tapioca starch as it’s easy to get in my country and can’t wait to see the result. Thank you Nami-san!
Hi Jayne! Thank you so much for your kind comment and for trying so many recipes from my site. If my recipes have some issues, please do not hesitate to let me know. I do make mistakes and I may not write good instructions etc. 🙂
I’m glad to hear that you now know your favorite sweet’s name! It’s a lot of arm work required to eat this wagashi at home, but it’s so worth it at the end! Enjoy!
Have you found the warabi mochiko in the Bay Area?
Hi Konishi! Nijiya sells warabiko (I think I saw two brands). 🙂