A microwavable form of the Japanese dessert made with sweet rice flour.  More varied and interesting flavors are available as well.

Microwave Mochi

mochiko (glutinous rice flour)

white sugar

water

white vinegar

potato starch

salt

In a medium bowl, mix together the mochiko, 1 cup of sugar, and water until well blended. Mix in the 2 drops of vinegar to soften. Pour into a microwave-safe dish, and loosely cover with plastic. Microwave for 8 to 10 minutes on HIGH. Remove, and let cool until cool enough to handle.


In a small bowl, combine the potato starch, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt. Turn the mochi out onto the plastic, and cut into pieces using a plastic or wooden knife. Metal knives tend to stick too much. Roll the pieces in the potato starch mixture.


I've tried several mochi recipes (steaming, cooking in balls in boiling water) to make for a Girl Scout event.  Of the three recipes I've tried, I found this one is the best.  I lived in Japan for a year and found that this recipe has a great, soft texture.  I added two drops of red food coloring (which looks like traditional Japanese mochi).  You could also add two drops of green food coloring as well.  Traditional Japanese mochi is usually pink, green and white.  I LOVED the powder that is used in this mochi recipe.  I do not like using plain cornstarch (has a chalky feel), so the addition of sugar and salt made it perfect!  I can say that if it is cooked too long you will get  hard corners (I'd use the shortest cooking time).  I used an 8 x 8 glass baking dish.  If you don't have a plastic knife, just dip your knife in the powder before each cut.  I found that this worked well.  Also, mochi is kept at room temperature.  So, do not put in the refrigerator, or else you will get hard mochi.  Good luck!

this was tasty and the texture was just like in the stores but, beware your cooking times. the first batch i made ended up with a hard top layer because i micro-waved it for too long. to add some flavor i added a couple of drops of coconut extract and that was yummy. next time i think i'll roll them in shredded coconut or add red bean ;)  ******** i tried this a second time and got perfect results. what did i do better? i cut  the microwave time down to 6 minutes, i substituted a couple of drops vegetable oil for the vinegar and i rolled the finished mochi in powdered sugar instead of starch. perfecto!

When I first started making it, it was a pasty liquid so I thought I might have done something wrong, but alas! it's supposed to be like that! it will harden as it cooks, so I just thought I would add that if anyone else had the same doubts I did. I only used 1/4 cup splenda(1/4 cup=1/2cup sugar) and it tasted... not bland, but not sweet. However, when i rolled it in coconut it tasted absolutely delicious. I omitted the potato starch, just because I dont like the dry taste it gives it. I tried to make mochi ice cream out of this, but my mochi pieces were too thick, so to those who also want to try this or fill it with anything (including adzuki bean) i would recommend making two batches but with the same amount of ingredients, that way it's thinner and easier to roll and fill.

it was pretty good, but i found that halving the sugar in the mochi itself and not putting any in the starch was better. i didn't have potato starch, so i used tapioca starch instead.

Cook in increments of two mintues and turn it each time or you will get hard mochi on the edges. Hard mochi=not tasty

Great versatile recipe, thanks for posting.  It is VERY GOOD with one change: try subbing 1 c. of coconut milk for 1 c. of the water.  I ate that whole batch in one day BY MYSELF.  Another good version: try adding 3T sifted cocoa for chocolate mochi.

Great recipe.  You can also use a pizza cutter to slice up the mochi. I simply dusted a cutting board with potato starch, "peeled" the mochi onto the board from an 8x8 pyrex, dusted it with more starch, and then used a pizza cutter to cut it up. After cutting it, I dusted it again to get into the cracks, separate the pieces and dust it in the extra starch and then it can be stored.

This worked really well.  I didn't have potato starch so I mixed 1 cup shredded coconut w/ 1/8 cup sugar and a pinch of salt.  I also added green food coloring.

This recipe is pretty darned good and very easy.  For traditional mochi to serve with azuki beans, I would decrease the sugar, even by half.  I added a few drops of canola oil and a few drops of vanilla.  I microwaved 3 minutes on low, 3 minutes on medium, and 3 minutes on high.  Didn't have potato starch, so I rolled it in powdered sugar.  The original recipe tastes sweet, more like manju.  All in all, easy and delicious!  Fresh is definitely better than buying store bought or making mochi (pounding) the traditional way. My Japanese grandmother is probably turning over in her grave...

This is really good, as good as the store bought chinese mochi. I don't eat a lot of sweet, so I reduced so sugar, still too sweet for me. I added some mugwort herb and red beans paste as the filling. My colleague loved it, and ask for the recipe. Next time I am going to add some green tea powder and roll them in sesamae seed instead of starch and sugar.

Very manageable for my first attempt.  I used green tea instead of water to make green tea mochi ice cream.  Also, for my surface, I used potato starch and CONFECTIONERS' sugar and salt.

Microwave on high makes it too hard.  Other than that, it's okay...  Mochi with coconut milk is much better.

This was alwsome! i didn't even know you could make this with the microwave. ^^
To make it even better, i added less sugar and coated it with coconut flakes.

I found using boiling water over the  rice flour and sugar gave me better results the second time I made this. (I added an extra 2 teaspoons water ) This way the flour and sugar are completely dissolved.  Don't bother with the vinegar as others had suggested. Microwave for only 6 minutes so it doesn't get dried out.  Let the mochi cool.  While it is cooling, prepared the 1 cup coconut and 1/8 cup( or less )cup sugar, and pinch of salt. Mixed this well.  I think less sugar is better because I found it too sweet.  I flattened the mochi like a pancake after it had cooled somewhat and then placed crunchy peanut butter in the center and sealed it by folding in half. Then rolled into a ball.   Try not to put too much peanut butter otherwise it will come out.     *** I forgot to mentioned that I didn't bother with the starch because when I made it the first time it tasted too dry that way******

Delicious! This was so easy, and it turned out great. I added a bout half of the original amount of sugar, because I was going to stuff them with sweet bean paste. I'm glad I did, because I feel like one cup would be too much. o.o I also halved the potato starch recipe and used cornstarch instead, it turned out fine and there was more than enough for my mochi.

So easy and so excellent! I also enjoysed the mochi with toasted sesame seeds.  Next time I will try read bean paste. Mmmmmm.

I might have done it wrong, but unless you want to have a very sticky mess while rolling, then I suggest coating the surface you're working on and your hands thoroughly with the starch substance...also, just the plain mochi tastes kind of bad from the starch.  I reccommend putting something in it.  Putting a small bit of ice cream and then rolling and freezing for about 20 minutes or longer is good...

My result was not quite as firm as other Mochi I've had, I cooked it 9 minutes.  However, it tasted just the same, and it sure was easier than the other Mochi recipes out there!

Great! I've wanted to make a sugar-free version of this for myself for ages and this finally gave me the confidence to do it. I used xylitol (a natural sugar alternative that's low glycemic) in place of the sugar and it worked really well. Next time, I'll use a tiny bit less since than the recipe calls for since I prefer it less sweet.

I tried a lot of mochi recipes and this one is the best! Never thought microwaved mochi would come out so soft. I filled mine with red bean paste. I'm a beginner at any kind of cooking and I found this recipe really easy. I didn't need as much potato starch, so next time I will only use 1/4 cup. I was able to get 20 pieces out of this recipe. Filling the pieces with the red bean paste was a little tricky and took the most time for me. I kept coating my fingers with the potato starch to keep it from sticking too much to my hand. I think making these without a filling would taste great too.

I agree with a previous comment. Reduce the time tot 6 min in the microwave and replace vinegar for a few drops of vegetable oil. I rolled it in corn starch (it's what I had on hand) and it came out GREAT! You could also roll it in more mochiko, but it tends to have a grainier texture than the potato or corn starch. I found that using the powdered sugar to roll in (like other comments have suggested), made a mess. The mochi was a little warm when I formed them into balls and it melted the powdered sugar. tip: when using powdered sugar, make sure the mochi is cooled off.

Worked well, I didn't have any problems, but next time I would add less salt to the covering. Otherwise, the turned out great!

Seriously?!?! This is so easy compared to traditional way, where we had steam the mochi!! I just made a batch and looking very good!! Couple of minor changes.
1) I reduced the amount of sugar
2) Instead of starch I am using finely grounded bean powder my friend brought over from Korea. I mixed the bean powder with sugar to make injur-mi(???). Yum~~~~~
Thank you thank you for the easy recipe! Definitely make again and again!!

Simple to make and very good. Cooked it for 8 minutes in a 8 x 8 glass pan. Used Splenda instead of sugar (and used less than the 1 cup). Used a small sprinkling of corn starch on the outside to keep it from sticking to everything instead of the potato starch, sugar and salt.

Loved this...here's what we did:  cut the sugar to 1/2 c, swapped the vinegar with canola oil, and added a couple of drops of vanilla.  Also cut the cook time to 6minutes.  For the topping, used cornstarch instead of potato starch, and agree w/another reviewer that using the salt was awesome!

Great recipe!  But I didn't really like how the starch mixture made the mochi kind of salty.  I think I'll leave out the salt next time.

This was fantastic!  I decided to make a half batch to see if I could really make mochi in the microwave.  It seemed too good to be true.  I followed the suggestions of using half the sugar, a couple drops of vegetable oil instead of vinegar (or canola in my case) and turning it every 2 minutes in the microwave.  I also used coconut milk in place of the water.  I am rolling it in kinako for some and cornstarch for others.  The result?  Delicious!

I made it and I place some homemade Anko (sweet red bean paste) inside. That was very good.

I found this recipe fun and easy so now I make it ALL THE TIME:)!!!!! I recommend to those who don`t like the taste of potato starch (Me) to use tapioca starch instead and don`t skip the vinegar it just is not the same texture. you can make this different flavor by substituting juice,liquid jello macha green tea or any other tasty liquid.

Turned out fantastic! Chewy, sweet and delicious. I wrapped mine around vanilla frozen yogurt, which was a huge mess but tasted delicious. Just like the store bought Trader Joes Mochi ice cream. Next, I am going to try it with green tea ice cream, and maybe add a drop of food coloring. Only changes I made was I also used agave nectar instead of sugar, and I just rolled in plain cornstarch instead of the mixture. I followed the advice of another reviewer and microwaved for 2 min at a time, stirring between, and I am glad I did. Prevented a hard top and allowed me to get it just the right consistency.

very good and really easy to make. my microwave is 1100 watts, and 6 minutes was all it took. I used hot water to mix up the sugar and the mochiko so that all the sugar would be incorporated somewhat evenly into the glutinous flour mixture. To make it easier to roll up, I worked on top of wax paper so that it wouldn't stick. I did not have potato starch so I toasted and ground up peanuts really finely, then rolled up the outer portion with that. I put peanut butter inside. I have one kid with nut allergy, so I did some flaked coconut outer and jam filled inner for him. Next time I will substitute some of the water for green tea, this will make the mochi green tea flavored. I may also make some purple yam mochi next time. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I left out the vinegar and I cut down the cooking time to 6 minutes. The texture was perfect this way and the flavor was great, too. I've tried tons of mochi recipes including steaming in a bamboo basket (my family's traditional way of making mochi) and boiling in water. This is the first microwave mochi recipe that I tried, but it's almost exactly like the steamed mochi my family makes and it takes way less time to make.

haha ... its easy to make ... i think my fren will like it ... thx though cause my house dont have oven but only have microwave and a toster ... (&gt;&lt;_&gt;&lt;)

Good basic starting point recipe. I fiddled with it a lot to try to mimic the bakery fresh coconut mochi I tried and fell in love with. Super similar texture. This recipe made about 12 medium large filled mochi balls. I only used 1/3 cup of sugar with good results. I also substituted 1/2 cup of water that the recipe called for with canned coconut cream as well as added 2 tbsp of dried coconut milk powder with the rice flour.I rolled the balls in finely shredded coconut. 

This saves me a 50 mile or so trip to the bakery that actually makes mochi so for that, I'll call it a sucess!

+1 on less sugar than called for. Mochi is traditionally not THAT sweet.

+1 on Cooking in 2 minute increments &amp; Only cooking the mochi in the microwave for 6 minutes. I have a 900 watt microwave.

So easy to make and absolutely yummy.  I microwaved it on high for 7 minutes, however it came out a little bit too tough for my liking.  I will try the 6 minutes as suggested by another reviewer next time.  I bought red bean paste in a can and stuffed it in the mochi.  Instead of using potato starch, I bought shredded sweetened coconut and crushed some peanuts, and coated the mochi in either or.  As suggested by another reviewer, make sure your hands are wet, it helps with the stickiness.

Great idea! I added some grated orange peel (1/4 tsp) to the mix before placing in our nuker. I also added 1/8 tsp of powdered Ginger to starch mixture. One suggestion is to halve the recipe for the starch as a lot was thrown away. The kids had fun making this and watching the nuker "bake".

So easy!  I added coconut extract and hydrated purple yam powder!  Corn starch worked just as well and I left out the vinegar.  My kids love this treat.  Especially my one year old.  I had to let it cool before rolling into a ball.  So sticky. 

Used 1/2 the sugar but since I also used matcha powder, ended up adding a little more sugar back in. 

TIP - melt a little butter or oil into your microwavable glass container then dust lightly with rice flour. The mochi came off the container super clean and easy.

My 14-year-old daughter needed a challenge for her 4H Microwave project. This fit the bill. She studied a bit of Japanese culture, too - always beneficial. Personally, I LOVE to eat these!

Didn’t change anything about the recipe! I do though, recommend definitely using the starch on whatever plastic platter you’re going to use before you put the mochi down!

Perfect results, so easy that it could be dangerous to calorie counters. Got together with a fellow ex-pat with same craving. She had made azuki bean paste from scratch. We made two batches, sat down chatted and had some with tea, all in less than 2 hrs. We excluded the vinegar, microwaved for 8 minutes and found our manju to be just perfect like we remembered it.

I made bite sized pieces with a peanut filling (1/2 c ground peanuts &amp; 1-2 tbsp peanut butter) and rolled them in finely shredded coconut. DELICIOUS! Then I made a filling out of ground almonds and almond butter (same proportions) and also rolled those in coconut. AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS!

Best texture and super easy to make!! I’ll never make mochi any other way. Fast, easy, and flavorful. Wonderful texture. I stopped my microwave at 2.5 minutes each time for a total of 7.5 minutes. Used vinyl gloves so it wouldn’t stick to my skin

At high altitude the mochi was super thick by 4 minutes in the microwave. I was heating it in 2-minute increments and by 4 it was a glue-like glob. 8 may have been way too much. Also, the starch/sugar mixture left me with far too much left over. I'll make it again but will use a lot less starch. It tastes pretty good and was easy to work.

Thank you for this simple, fast recipe! Growing up my (Korean) mom would buy pkgs of the plain, frozen, premade mochi cakes from the Asian store, fry them in sesame oil &amp; sprinkle with sugar. One of my favorite treats of all time! But I have a difficult time finding those mochi cakes, as usually they're stuffed with beans (yuck 🤢) or the texture isn't the same. As soon as this recipe is finished in the microwave it turns out exactly the way it does when you melt store bought, frozen mochi cakes. I can't believe how fast &amp; easy it was to make! I am absolutely giddy 😃 Thank you so much! 🙏

Didn’t work. Mines burned. Followed the exact recipe and measured exact measurements to the T.

I live at high altitude, 4000 feet. The first time I made this it went poorly because of the microwave settings. If you live at altitude, turn down the microwave to about half power and do the shorter cook time. Then it turns out perfect!

I love this recipe, while I love the recipes with coconut milk, my son has allergies so we can't have that in the house and this is lightening fast! I grew up in Hawaii, and while I'm back on the mainland, I enjoy celebrating Girls Day and Boys Day, so today we added some food coloring to make a pink tint for girls day. Thank you SO much for your submission :)

Great recipe will make again... Thank you

Ive made the complicated mochi (why im on here to find an easier way for one of my favorite japanese treats) nd they dont use potatoe startch to put on it for those kinds of recipes, they use jst the regular mochiko, so thats what i will do sense i dont hav any startch

Microwave for 5 - 6 min instead of what is suggested here. 8min makes the mochi rock-hard and very hard to eat. I can't even take it out of the bowl.

This recipe worked out great for me on the first try, but I did modify/remove a few things from my own version. 
Instead of water, I used 1 and 1/2 cups of rich coconut milk. I'd seen other recipes online using coconut milk and it just sounded yummier to me! 
Per another user's suggestion, I subbed veggie oil for the distilled white vinegar. I completely omitted the potato starch, extra 1/4 cup of sugar, and salt and instead used confectioners sugar (powdered sugar). One caution - make sure the mochi is cooled at least MOST of the way before putting any powdered sugar on it, as it will melt and become a sticky mess if it is still hot! 
Lastly, I added a table spoon of green tea powder to the mix to give it some flavor. 
I mixed the sugar, rice flour, and coconut milk first, then added the green tea powder. In afterthought, it might have been better to mix the 3 dry ingredients together, first, then add the milk and oil. I microwaved it in 2 minute increments, per another user's suggestion, and stirred. I ended up microwaving it for just 7 minutes total and put it on a piece of tin foil to cool before slicing it and molding it into balls. After letting it cool, I sprinkled it with a bit of powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to everything. 
It came out delicious and I'll definitely be making it again! (:

I skipped the last step in process in order to spoon sweet red bean paste onto center instead.  I folded the rice dough over it, hand-rolled into round mochi!  Perfect, yet such an easy recipe!

very delicious; perfect texture and chewyness. I did follow the advice of several other reviewers and I cut the cook time to six minutes, pausing after three minutes to scrape down the sides and stir it again before putting it back into the microwave. I also put in 1/4 tsp of salt in the beginning for a more distinct flavor, and cut back the sugar by a few tbs. To enhance the color, I added a bit of cherry kool-aid powder to the water before pouring it into the dry ingredients, just enough to turn it slightly pink. Powdered sugar works fine instead of the starch mixture, and I just used a wooden spatula to divide the end product into chunks. A fabulous and easy recipe for anyone who loves sticky rice :)

I followed the recommendations of some of the other reviewers: halving the sugar and salt, using 3/4 coconut milk and 3/4 water, added a couple drops vanilla, microwaving on 80%(1200watt microwave) for a total of 5 min stirring between, and rolled the mochi out in two batches.

It came out wonderfully! I spent some time in Japan a few years ago and couldn’t find the same soft and chewy mochi anywhere here in the states. The only thing we have is mochi ice cream and I am lactose intolerant. This recipe is soft and chewy and delicious! I filled mine with premised adzuki. 

When I make it again I will not be adding the salt. You can definitely taste it and I am not a fan. Overall a great recipe.

This recipe was very easy and simple. But don’t repeat my same mistake, When the mochi mixture was done in the microwave I lifted the plastic wrap and all the steam rushed out and onto my hand. If this happens to you as well please run under cold water/ice, and cover with Sylvadine and wrap with gauze. Mochi was good tho.

SUCCESS! This turned out fabulous! I was naturally a little wary of a mochi recipe with the word "microwave" in it, but it was great! Pared it down to 9 servings and used a little red food dye, but other than some trouble getting it out of the pan it was perfect!

I made this twice; the first time as written, stuffed with red bean paste or with ice cream. It was ok. Today I made it with coconut milk and added two tbsp. of cocoa powder along with a tsp of vanilla. I cooked it for 8 minutes. I rolled it on and in coconut and confectioners sugar and filled the squares with either red bean paste or with a dried apricot. The chocolate flavor is quite mild, the texture soft and the fillings quite good.  I used parchment paper in the cooking dish and on the board to minimize goo. I like the recipe and would prefer some added flavor. The coconut milk does enrich the recipe. I have since made this two more times, but substituted half the sugar with a package of jello (strawberry) regular jello. This gave the mochi color and definitive taste. I just made squares of it and rolled it in confectioner's sugar. I believe on this addition, one may need to cook it longer because the middle portion of mine was too gooey. Tastes great, though.

I used 1 cup coconut milk heated on stove ( 1 can) and used less sugar. This was fun to make as I was able to microwave this recipe in metal bowl and I used a hand electric mixer to mix the heated coconut milk and arrow root powder egg into it  and I found it fascinating to see science in action using a  vegan egg substitute for the first time for the potatoe starch. I also was able to see it getting sticky in 2 minute intervals making sure to turn the mochi with a wooden spoon to get it microwaved evenly each 2 minutes. It took me 8 minutes to reach ideal consistency all togather. I will be adding mango in the middle and I will add pictures to show how it all adds up :) Interested how others did their variations.. 1st picture after 2 mins microwave 2nd picture after another 2 minutes

This is great but you do have to know what to do.  I line the container with cling wrap and usually halve the sugar because I put sweetened red bean paste in them.

microwave mochi

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total: 15 minutes

Servings: 25

Author : DINKYPIE

Ingredients

Instructions

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