Daifuku is a Japanese sweet consisting of a small round glutinous rice cake/mochi stuffed with sweet filling. Most Daifuku are covered in a fine layer of corn or taro starch to prevent them from sticking to each other, believe me this is one sticky dessert without the flour. I adapted my Green Tea Daifuku from Hugbear aka LeeLee and used the basic red bean paste as filling. I have tried it plain with toasted ground peanuts before and it was yummy as well.
Recipe adapted from LeeLee:
- 1 cup glutinous rice flour
- 1/2 tsp. green tea powder (for baking)
- 180ml water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Red bean paste for filling
- Cornstarch for dusting (microwave cornstarch for 2 mins, let it cool completely before using)
Method:
1. In a glass bowl, combine flour, green tea powder and water. Stir to mix well. Then add in the sugar, stir til sugar dissolved.
2. Cover with a plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes. Remove and stir well. Return to microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir-well and check for doneness. If not, put it back for another 30 seconds, be careful not to burn it.
3. Flour the working surface with cornstarch and use a spoon to drop a ball of mochi on top and quickly cover it with starch. Divide into 8 or 10 pieces. Wrap the filling inside and cover with more cornstarch. Shape into balls and ready to serve.
Verdict: This daifuku is really soft with a strong green tea flavor and combined with the sweet red bean paste, what can I say but absolutely divine!
Little Corner- thanks so much for sharing this. I love a good mochi and can't wait to try it out. I have a backlog of stuff to try now! I wonder can I make my own red bean paste? Any suggestions? I can't get green tea powder here....
ReplyDeleteLooks really interesting. I haven't eaten anything like this before.
ReplyDeleteSo soft and yummy! Very pretty!
ReplyDeleteahh matcha....
ReplyDeletei love mochi :D
looks very soft n yummy.
ReplyDeleteit's mooncake season leh, u not making ping pei moonies with the (fried)glutinous flour ?
me v lazy now to dig up my moonie mold, haha think will follow u n make daifuku with my mooncake filling.
hmm ... so yummy. I want one too. I don't have real green tea powder :(
ReplyDeleteWe called these "moci" too, usually with sweetened ground peanut as filling. Yours look more lovely with green tea and red beans inside.
ReplyDeletei love green tea, all type food made from green tea, to bad i didn't find macha (green tea powder) here :(.......urs daifu looks yummmm
ReplyDeleteGreen Tea Mochi.. yum yum.. I love mochi. Where do you get your baking matcha powder? I had non-baking matcha powder at home but only good for making ice cream.
ReplyDeleteHi Daphne,
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome! I actually used the canned red bean paste. But if you want to make your own, I think East Meets West Kitchen posted a recipe. You can omit the green tea powder if you don't have it.
Hi Kelly,
You should try it if you spotted it in the Asian market, it's delicious. :)
Thanks V! :)
Andaliman, this mochi recipe is really good, give it a try!
Hi Peony,
Thanks! Me ah, failed at my first attempt at ping pei mooncake last year and have yet to try it again. :P LeeLee daifuku recipe is a keeper, very soft and yummy.
Thanks Cooking Ninja. You can use pandan extract and make it into pandan flavored mochi instead. I'm sure it tastes just as yummy.
Hi Retno,
Thanks! We have the moci you mentioned too. I made that before with the same recipe and it was delicious.
Thanks Lia! :)
Hi Cocoa,
Thanks! I have to buy my green tea powder from Malaysia baking store. So, make sure you look for this back home! ;) Redman brand, I posted the picture some where in my blog, perhaps it's the green tea pound cake post, not sure anymore.
I always get my daifuku fix from the Jap grocery store. I like daifuku as you do - soft daifuku with strong green tea flavor and chunky bits of red beans around the daifuku.
ReplyDeleteYour daifuku looks perfect.
This looks really good! bookmarked!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tigerfish. This daifuku is very easy to make, just microwave only mah, wanna try your hand in making this? ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Anh,
Thanks for dropping by! Hope you will like this too! :)
this sounds fantastic! i love asian desserts, and i'm sure i'd love this one!
ReplyDeletelast year, i had a particular obsession with glutinous rice balls! my favourite ones were with red bean paste. i used to have an afternoon/study snack of rice balls and green tea! yum!
i shall have to try your recipe!
Oh Ching, we are thinking about the same food. I just bought a bag of flour last week and hoping to make some but never got around to it. Sent some over my dear!
ReplyDeleteHi Maninas,
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting! I'm sure you will love this! In fact, I'll be making it again today! :)
Hi Edith,
Sure, it's on your way! ;)
This is so good Edith, I'm sure you will enjoy yours too! It's so fragrant with the green tea flavor, yum yum.
I tried making mochi once, but it was a total disaster. The thing was too sticky, that I can't roll the filling in. Yours look so good!
ReplyDeletehey ching, if u're oredi making this, why not try making some snowskin mooncakes!
ReplyDeletelooks really good.... i'm drooling... just the dessert after my lunch!
Hi Mandy,
ReplyDeleteYou were right, this thing is super sticky! I have to make sure it was covered with starch before I put the filling in and make sure it's covered with starch again before I roll it into ball shape.
Hi Baking Fiend,
This one is easier than snowskin mooncake I think. Don't know leh... Maybe I will give it a try again next year, this year too lazy. :P
Just 1 question, can cornstarch be consumed 'raw'?
ReplyDeleteI believe you can consume the cornstarch raw since this is what people use to coat the mochi. If not, you can always microwave the cornstarch first and let cool before using.
ReplyDeletethank you for sharing the recipe! i love eating daifuku, reminds me of the same kueh moci from indonesia (it's a plain version of daifuku)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome eliza! :)
ReplyDeleteThat really looks sooo good! And it seems easy to make as well! I'm bookmarking this recipe so I can try it!
ReplyDeleteHi wokandspoon,
ReplyDeleteIt is very easy because it's just basically mix and microwave. The tricky part is to put the filling in and roll it well because it's very STICKY! Good luck! :)
Mom taught me the microwave method as well - it is SO easy!
ReplyDeleteI've been hunting for mochi balls and yours look so yummy...can't wait to try them!!! Was just wondering won't it take long if I have to stir the sugar in the water before it completely dissolves? Won't microwaving the mixture help to dissolve it? Will the recipe still work if i warm up the 180ml water, then add the sugar to it to speed up melting. Then let the sugar-water cool before adding the flour in?
ReplyDeleteHi Sharon,
ReplyDeleteIt only takes awhile for me, just a few strokes would do. But if you do like what you suggested, then you might have to wait longer for the warm water to cool down before adding in the flour.
I see...thanks for the tip!!! ;)
ReplyDeleteI was searching all over for a mochi recipe and I happened to chance upon this post :D
ReplyDeleteWill try this out as soon as I get my hands on glutinous rice flour ;)
Wow! This looks like a great recipe! :D
ReplyDeleteI was wondering, about the corn starch and such, do you think it'd be okay to put a bit of powdered sugar on the outside along with the starch? or would that be too sweet?
Hi Kappuh,
ReplyDeleteYeah it might be too sweet. It depends on how sweet your red bean paste/filling is I guess. For me, I won't add powdered sugar as it might get sticky when touches with liquid.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteI do not have a microware oven at home. Can i use other method to cook the daifuku? If so, how do i check for doness of the dough?
Thanks
Christ
Hi Christ,
ReplyDeleteYou can steam it. Try steaming it for 15-20 mins and check for doneness, if not set, steam a little longer. When it's cooked, it would be like a sticky dough, you cut it in the middle with a knife to see if it's cooked through.
Hiya! your recipe looks great :) Do you know whether japanese green tea powder (the type for drinking) can be used instead?
ReplyDeleteHi Weisi, sorry I am not sure about that and doubtful. The one for baking is really fragrant and green.
ReplyDeleteHi Ching, I have a question please. On the Mochi recipe, cornstarch was used to cover the Mochi but not cooked. Just wondering if cornstarch could be eaten uncooked? BTW I like looking at all the food on your page, it makes me feel nostalgic and really wanna eat them but I have no time to make them. I have been in the UK for a long time and really miss all those sweets. I used to by Matcha Mochi in London cost over £3 each, probably I must try and make myself. You are such a fantastic cook, the pictures look tantalising. I am now a fan on facebook wanted to send a msg to you but couldn't.
ReplyDeleteHappy Chinese New Year, love the pics of your two little daughters, so cute!!
MeiMei
Hi Ching, if I have any question regarding your recipe, can I ask you on facebook?
ReplyDeleteMeiMei
Yes Mei Mei, you can. I already answered your question in Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that some people had trouble finding matcha powder... I actually work at a store that sells this and you can order it online. The website is chelmsfordtea.com and it's listed under "green tea". Can't wait to try this recipe... it sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteHi ching,
ReplyDeleteCan u advise whether the glutinous rice flr in this recipe refers to the normal Thai glutinous rice flr or koh fun ( "fried" glutinous rice flr )?
Thks,
Chelsea
Hi Chelsea,
ReplyDeleteIt is not Koh Fun, it's the normal glutinous rice flour.
Thks for the info, Ching!:)
ReplyDeleteChelsea
Thank you for the recipe! Your mochi picture looks soft and yummy! If mine turned out very sticky but kind of rubbery and not so soft, where do you think I went wrong? Not enough water maybe? Or I overcooked it? :(
ReplyDeleteHi enorchi,
ReplyDeleteFrankly I don't know because this should be really soft. Softer than the one we bought from the store. It might be overcooked or lack of water like you mentioned.
hi, if i want to use peanut filling, can i use peanut butter instead?
ReplyDeleteif i used toasted ground peanuts, how do i melt them to become the paste?
Hi Stacey, yes you can use peanut butter. You can add coconut flakes with the peanut butter too. For the toasted ground peanuts with sugar filling, just ground some toasted peanuts and add the amount of sugar you like. You can add coconut flakes as well.
ReplyDeleteu mentioned can use steam method if no microwave is available. So for the cornstarch, can I steam it too? Steam for how long?
ReplyDeleteThe u so much.
Hi Hei,
ReplyDeleteInstead of steaming the cornstarch, you can just pan-fry it in low heat for 5 minutes.
Thanks a lot! appreciated. :-)
ReplyDeleteI had no idea how this stuff was made! I absolutely love it with black sesame paste inside it.. soo delicious. I really want to try this at home
ReplyDeleteello ^_^ please how many ml is one cup. THANKS :*
ReplyDeleteHi Veronika,
ReplyDelete1 cup rounds it up to 240ml (exact=236.588ml). :)
Hi, I made this and it was delicious - just did a minor variation - I didn't have corn starch so used glutinous rice flour for dusting. Since I wasn't going to eat everything right away, I put it into a zip loc baggie and a few hours later it looked like the mochi absorbed the dusting of glutinous rice flour and it became oily instead! Do you know if using the glutinous rice flour for dusting instead of corn starch would be the reason my mochi turned oily? The only oil I used was in the black sesame filling.
ReplyDeleteHmmm Anon,
ReplyDeleteIs your area very hot? I think it might be caused by the heat or unless your black sesame filling is very oily? As I don't think using the glutinous rice flour instead of cornstarch is the main reason.
It's not very hot where I am but it was a nice day. I used about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil and a couple of drops of. Sesame oil. I also had put the mochis together in the bag. Would it make a difference if I individually stored them in its own ziplock bag or plastic wrapped them separately?
DeletePerhaps, you can try. I usually put them in an air-tight container.
ReplyDeleteDo you individually plastic wrap them before storing them in an airtight container? And do you leave them out or put them in the fridge?
DeleteI did not individually wrap them. Just put it in an air-tight container with a little space between them and store at room-temperature as mochi would harden in the refrigerator. This recipe only yields about 10 mochi for me so with my family of 4, we finish it off rather quickly.
ReplyDelete