{"id":206050,"title":"Authentic Daifuku Mochi","modified":"2026-11-14T19:25:19+01:00","plain":"A ball of soft, powder-dusted white mochi filled with sweet red bean paste: the shiro daifuku of Japanese sweet shops, made at home.\n\n\n\nThere\u2019s that mid-afternoon lull when you want something sweet without going as far as cake. Daifuku hits the spot: a small white ball, still dusted with starch, that yields under your fingers. \n\n\n\nThe first bite stretches, soft and tender, then you reach the red bean paste, dense and meltingly smooth. You have one just to try it, and a second follows close behind.\n\n\n\nAnother Japanese sweet with a wobbly texture: warabi mochi\n\n\n\nWhat Is Daifuku?\n\n\n\nDaifuku is a wagashi, a traditional confection of Japanese cuisine, from the same family as mitarashi dango. It consists of a mochi shell, a soft, stretchy dough made from glutinous rice, wrapped around a filling. Shiro daifuku, or \u201cwhite daifuku,\u201d is the plain version, filled with anko, a sweet azuki bean paste. It\u2019s eaten at room temperature, unlike mochi ice cream, which is filled with ice cream.\n\n\n\nDaifuku is written \u5927\u798f and means \u201cgreat fortune.\u201d The name comes in several variations: ichigo daifuku hides a whole strawberry along with the anko, while mame daifuku has beans mixed into its shell.\n\n\n\nA Sweet from the Edo Period\n\n\n\nDaifuku became widespread during the Edo period (1603-1867) as a popular snack. Its ancestor, uzura mochi, or \u201cquail mochi,\u201d owed its name to its plump, oval shape. These early versions were bigger than today\u2019s daifuku and filled with salted red beans.\n\n\n\nBack then it was called harabuto mochi, \u201cbig belly mochi,\u201d a snack that filled you up. As it became smaller and sweeter, it took the name daifuku, written with the characters for good fortune.\n\n\n\nAnko also finds its way into mizu y\u014dkan, a chilled red bean jelly\n\n\n\nTraditional mochi is made by mochitsuki: steamed glutinous rice is pounded with a mallet in a mortar until it forms a smooth paste. At home, mochiko, a glutinous rice flour, lets you skip all that.\n\n\n\nThe Main Ingredients in Daifuku\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe shell takes just three ingredients: mochiko, water, and sugar. Mochiko is essential, as regular rice flour won\u2019t give you that stretchy dough. Despite its name, glutinous rice contains no gluten: the word describes its sticky texture once cooked. You\u2019ll find mochiko at Asian grocery stores, especially Japanese ones.\n\n\n\nThe sugar matters as much as the flour. Worked into the hot mochi in three additions, it keeps the shell soft and tender for much longer. The amount may seem generous, but cutting back makes the daifuku harden faster.\n\n\n\nThe anko for the filling can be made at home or bought at a Japanese grocery store. It\u2019s the same paste used in dorayaki, either smooth, known as koshian, or with bits of bean, known as tsubuan. For shaping, potato starch, or katakuriko, keeps the mochi from sticking to your hands. Cornstarch works just as well in its place.\n\n\n\nTechnical Tips for Soft Daifuku\n\n\n\nIt all comes down to the saucepan. Each third of the sugar must melt completely before you add the next, over medium-low heat, without letting the dough burn. The mochi is then shaped while still hot, on a generously dusted tray, and each daifuku rests seam side down.\n\n\n\nMochi and anko also come together in zenzai\n\n\n\nDaifuku is best eaten the same day, at room temperature, with a matcha or another green tea. In the fridge, the starch in the mochi firms up and the shell hardens. To keep them longer, wrap them individually and freeze them.\n\n\n\n\n\n\tAuthentic Daifuku\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\n\t\tFilling8 heaping tablespoons red bean paste (sweetened (anko, about 250 g), made ahead and completely cooled)Mochi Dough160 g mochiko ((glutinous rice flour))180 ml water, (plus a little extra if the dough is too dry)150 g sugar, (added in three batches)ShapingPotato starch ((katakuriko), or cornstarch, for dusting generously)\t\n\t\n\t\tFilling (Make Ahead)Make the red bean paste ahead of time.Let it cool completely.Shape 8 balls of red bean paste, each the size of a heaping tablespoon.Set the balls aside on a plate.Mochi DoughPut the mochiko in a glass bowl, or in another heatproof container.Add the water.Mix well.If the dough is too dry, add a little water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition.Place the bowl, with the dough in it, in the basket of a steamer.Steam for 20 minutes.Cooking with SugarTransfer the steamed mochi to a saucepan.Heat over medium to medium-low heat.Add the first third of the sugar.Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved.Add the second third of the sugar.Stir well until it has dissolved.Add the last third of the sugar.Keep cooking, stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.Take your time to melt the sugar fully, without letting it burn.ShapingGenerously dust a baking sheet with the starch.Place the hot mochi on the baking sheet.Cut off a piece of mochi for each daifuku (8 in total).Wrap a ball of red bean paste in the piece of mochi.Pinch the edges of the mochi to seal the daifuku tightly.Place the daifuku on the baking sheet, seam side down.Repeat with the remaining mochi and red bean paste balls.Serve the daifuku seam side down.\t\n\t\n\t\tMochiko (glutinous rice flour) is essential: regular rice flour won't give mochi its stretchy texture. You can find it at Asian or Japanese grocery stores and online.\nThe sugar, added to the saucepan in three batches, keeps the dough soft and tender far longer than mochi made from pounded rice. Don't reduce the amount.\nRed bean paste can be bought at Japanese grocery stores, or made with the homemade recipe on this site. Both koshian (smooth) and tsubuan (chunky) work well.\nNo steamer? A steamer basket set over a saucepan of simmering water, with the lid on, does the job.\n\t\n\t\n\t\tDessertJaponaise","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marcwiner.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}