Ingredients

Ingredients

• 15 ounces coarse or smooth sweetened red bean paste (1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons)
• 2 cups glutinous or sweet rice flour (preferably Thai), or mochiko flour
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• Cornstarch, for dusting
• 12 paper cupcake liners (optional)

Instructions

1. Divide 15 ounces red bean paste into 12 portions (about 2 tablespoons or 34 grams each) and place on a parchment paper-lined plate or small rimmed baking sheet. Roll each portion into a smooth ball. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate while you prepare the mochi.
2. Whisk 2 cups glutinous rice flour, 1 3/4 cups water, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt together in a large bowl until smooth. Lightly dust a cutting board or silicone baking mat with cornstarch.
3. Pour the rice flour mixture into a large nonstick frying pan and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly and scraping the edges with a heatproof flexible spatula, until a thick and putty-like mixture forms into a single mass that’s hard to move around the pan, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer onto the cornstarch-dusted work surface. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes.
4. Dust the top with a little more cornstarch. With the help of a dough or bench scraper, gently knead the dough until smooth, about 1 minute. If at any time the mochi is too sticky to handle, dust with a little more cornstarch. Dust a rolling pin with cornstarch and roll out the mochi until it's a rough 9x12-inch rectangle that’s a scant 1/2-inch thick. Dust the bench scraper with cornstarch and use it to cut the mochi into 12 (3-inch) squares.
5. Working with one piece of mochi at a time and using cornstarch-dusted hands, place a portion of red bean paste in the center of the mochi square and gather the edges together. Pinch to seal, making sure the red bean paste is completely enclosed. Lightly dust with cornstarch when needed (avoid using a lot of cornstarch), but having the edges sticky will better seal the mochi. Gently form the mochi into a smooth round between your palms. Return to the parchment or place in a paper cupcake liner.
6. Loosely cover the mochi with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours for the best texture and serve chilled.

Recipe Notes

General Tips

Glutinous rice flour and mochiko (sweet rice) flour are technically different flours but are generally interchangeable in this recipe. Please note that regular rice flour will not work, and I also find that Bob’s Red Mill Stone-Ground Sweet Rice Flour is a little gritty and not ideal for this recipe.

The red bean paste, once portioned, can be frozen if you want a sturdier filling to wrap the mochi with. You can use sweetened red bean paste that comes in a can or in a plastic package.

Storage: Mochi can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The assembled mochi can also be frozen if wrapped very tightly in plastic wrap to avoid drying out. Thaw in the refrigerator.