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    How To Make Warabi Mochi At Home

    How To Make Warabi Mochi At Home

    by Ayako Kidokoro

    Dessert Summer Mochi Kinako Soybean Japanese Sweets Vegetarian Vegan Potluck Friendly

    Warabi mochi is a Japanese confection made of warabi or bracken starch. It is a type of fern, and the starch comes from the rhizomes or the underground stem of the plant.

    Warabi mochi is chewy but also has a jelly-like texture at the same time. It is covered in a nutty soybean powder, what is known as Kinako, and served with Kuromitsu, brown sugar syrup. It’s usually served chilled, meaning that it’s the perfect dessert to enjoy during the hot summer months, or when you want to cool off.

    It is a traditional confection that has been enjoyed since the 8th century in Japan. Originally, warabi mochi was a sweet that only those with high status could enjoy, because it was an expensive dessert.

    Strictly speaking, warabi mochi is not really mochi, because it is not made from rice. However, Warabi, bracken has a sticky and chewy texture like mochi, so that’s why Japanese people refer to it as mochi.

    While warabi mochi can usually be found year-round in grocery stores, Japanese confection shops usually only sell them during the summer. It can also easily be made at home too. Just mix the three ingredients of warabi starch, sugar, and water together, and cook them in a pot until they form a sticky mixture.

    Warabi starch is not an ingredient that is common overseas, so you might want to know more about it. There are two kinds of Warabi Starch that you can find.

    1. 100% Warabi starch
    2. Warabi starch mixed with potato starch (contains less than 5% of warabi starch)

    100% Warabi starch is very sticky and has a brown or black dark color. The latter still has the aroma of Warabi, and the consistency of the starch is more firm.

    However, 100% warabi starch is quite expensive and hard to get, even in Japan. For this reason, we are using the second option or the mixed warabi and potato starch mixture for our warabi mochi recipe. If you cannot find either of these starches in your local supermarket, you can also use Kudzu starch which can easily be purchased from the Japanese Taste website. 

    Dust the warabi mochi in kinako powder, and then drizzle kuromitsu sugar syrup on top for a sweet and refreshing Japanese dessert. Enjoy the hot season with Warabi Mochi!

    Overview

    Prep time: 20 mins

    Cook time: 15 mins

    Total time: 35 mins

    Total servings: 4

    Difficulty: Easy

    Ingredients
    • 50g Warabi Mochiko (bracken starch)
    • 40g Sugar
    • 260ml Water
    • 3-4 Tbsp Kinako Powder
    • 3-4 Tbsp Kuromitsu (Brown sugar syrup)

    Expert's Tip

    Kanazawa Daichi Kinako Organic Roasted Soybean Powder 80g

    Kinako is tasty, gluten-free, and contains more than 13 grams of edible fiber per 100 grams. Soybeans, which are used to make kinako, are known as the “meat of the field” in Japan. This Kanazawa Daichi Kinako is made from 100% Japanese organic roasted soybeans. It is perfect for making warabi mochi, but you can also use it in other Japanese sweets or even add it to smoothies. It is healthy and delicious, so why not give it a try? 

    Instructions

    Ingredients for warabi mochi
    1) Gathering the Ingredients

    Gather all the ingredients together. 

    Adding warabi mochi ingredients into a saucepan Using a whisk to mix the ingredients together
    2) Making the Warabi Mochi Mixture

    Add Warabi Mochiko, sugar, and water into a saucepan then mix well with a whisk until it becomes smooth.

    Heating the warabi mochi mixture After the warabi mochi mixture has been cooked. The texture is much thicker
    3) Heating the Warabi Mochi Mixture

    Heat the mixture over low-medium heat. 

    Stir continuously with a wooden spatula. Once the mixture becomes thicker, turn down the heat to low and mix continuously for another 4-5 minutes. You know the mixture is ready when it becomes shiny and firm.

    Tip: A wooden spatula is recommended as you need to stir the mixture thoroughly.  

    Sprinkling kinako powder onto a separate tray Pouring the warabi mochi mixture into a separate container Sprinkling more kinako powder over the warabi mochi
    4) Transfering the Warabi Mochi into a Container

    Sprinkle Kinako powder onto a container to avoid the mochi mixture from sticking to the tray. 

    Remove the mochi from the heat and transfer it to the tray sprinkled with kinako powder. 

    Sprinkle more Kinako onto the surface of the mochi and leave it for 5-10 minutes to cool down.

    Finished warabi mochi Using a bench scraper to cut the warabi mochi Dusting the warabi mochi with more kinako powder
    5) Cutting into Pieces and Dusting with More Kinako Powder

    Once the warabi mochi is cool enough to touch, flatten its surface with your fingers. 

    Using a bench scraper, cut the warabi mochi into bite-sized, square pieces. Dust them in kinako powder, making sure to cover all surfaces of the mochi, to prevent them from sticking to each other.

    Chill the warabi mochi in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour before consuming. 

    Serve it with Kuromitsu syrup. Enjoy!

    Warabi mochi and matcha warabi mochi
    6) Tips for Storing Warabi Mochi

    When making warabi mochi at home, you can keep it in a cool, dark place for 1-2 days. For optimal texture, it is recommended to refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour before eating. It is better not to leave it in the refrigerator for too long because the texture will become harder.

    Tip: We also have a recipe for Matcha Warabi Mochi on our blog too. Be sure to check it out!

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