Green Tea Daifuku Mochi Recipe

Below you will learn how to make a Daifuku mochi recipe, so read on.

Do you know what is Daifuku? Sounds like a karate kick or an ancient scary deep sea monster, right? Well, it’s actually a versatile sweet Japanese dessert based on glutinous rice flour a type of wagashi, which can be made very fragrant or not that much but very tasty due to umami (I added Matcha green tea powder) and topped (here with a red bean paste). It’s very delicious when consumed with tea too!

Mochi is of Chinese origin and is traditionally consumed at the end of the year. It’s based on glutinous rice flour and is very popular in Japan in various forms of preparation. So, we’ll talk about Daifuku (“great luck”) mochi which is filled with a sweet red bean paste (“anko “) or other sweet treats (fruits, pasta, etc..).

Want to make daifuku mochi with matcha tea and black sesame like in Japan? Discover this yummy vegan mochi recipe below!

 Daifuku Mochi Ingredients

• 175g red bean paste (you can get it from Asian grocery stores)
• 100g glutinous rice flour
• 120 ml  water
• 1.5 teaspoon matcha green tea (powder)
• 100g icing sugar
• maize (corn starch)
• a sheet of parchment paper

Preparing Your Green Tea Daifuku Mochi Cakes

* In most recipes it is advisable to use a microwave to make the preparation easier. I don’t have that at home as it’s not very recommendable for health. We will use soft steam as it is traditionally done.

To properly prepare a mochi, you need to act quickly. So, the dough that you will heat with steam will be at first very soft and then Harden very quickly and there you will no longer be able to handle the cake. So, first spread cornstarch on a plate or plate, and put in a bowl your well-kneaded red bean paste.

Mix your flour + sugar + green tea (matcha) powder + water and place either in a steamer, or make a water bath and in the pan from above, cover with baking paper to have a gentle baking of the dough, you need to constantly monitor and mix with a spoon. You will know when it is ready when it adheres slightly (very fast: about 2 min).

Then when out of the fire, coat your hands with cornstarch so that nothing sticks, then form small balls (approximately 8 mochi balls are made with this amount). Flatten into a disc in the palm of your hand and place a little dot of sweet red bean paste. Close well and roll in cornstarch again or in icing sugar.

You can also grill sesame seeds and roll the balls in them, it’s great! That way the recipe would be perfect for roasted sesame/peanut butter or any other nut butter combined with Daifuku Mochi which is also great!

Tip:

Don’t be discouraged, it is normal at first not to fail at making them properly and you may need some helping hand, as all Asian cuisines require certain dexterity and mastery. You probably will have to start again and again a few times or adjust a few of the ingredients. If you do not know this tasty dessert, buy it ready-made in the grocery store to experience this delicacy and when you are in love with it, it will be very easy to get back to it making it at home :-)!

How to Find Matcha Green Tea?

Matcha tea sells commercially quite a lot lately, it is usually found in Asian supermarkets or in some organic stores, the price of which will remain more expensive than classic green tea. Matcha tea is in the form of green tea powder with which you can make Matcha lattes and has some caffeine in it similar to coffee, instead of just dried leaves like other types of tea.

Here’s a popular matcha powder that we can recommend:

Enjoy!

Have you made mochi before? If you have any questions or tips on making these delicious Japanese rice cakes let me know in the comments.