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Black Sesame Mochi

Black sesame mochi dusted with starch in paper cases on a white plate
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Soft, stretchy black sesame mochi with a thick, toasty black sesame filling. Ready in about an hour and a half with no special equipment beyond a food processor and a microwave.

Ingredients

Units Scale

Black sesame filling

  • 100 g black sesame seeds
  • 60 g powdered sugar
  • 55 g unsalted butter, softened
  • Pinch of fine salt

Mochi dough

  • 150 g glutinous rice flour (mochiko or shiratamako)
  • 60 g granulated sugar
  • 200 ml water

For shaping

  • 50 g potato starch or cornstarch, for dusting

Instructions

  1. Toast the black sesame seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking often, until they smell nutty. Tip onto a plate and cool completely.
  2. Blitz the cooled seeds in a food processor for 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down often, until they break down into a coarse dark paste. Add the powdered sugar, softened butter and salt, then blend again until thick and glossy.
  3. Scrape the filling into a bowl and chill for 30 minutes, until firm enough to scoop.
  4. Roll the filling into 12 balls of roughly 15 g each. Freeze for 15 minutes. Firm filling is the difference between easy wrapping and a frustrating mess.
  5. Whisk the glutinous rice flour and granulated sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Pour in the water gradually, whisking to a smooth batter with no lumps. Pass it through a sieve if any remain.
  6. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave for 1 minute, stir well, microwave 1 minute more, stir again, then continue in 30 second bursts until the dough is thick, glossy and translucent rather than chalky white. Total time is usually 2 and a half to 3 minutes.
  7. Dust a work surface generously with starch. Scrape the hot dough out, dust the top, and leave for 5 minutes until cool enough to handle but still warm and pliable.
  8. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Flatten each into a disc about 8 cm across, keeping the edges slightly thinner than the centre.
  9. Sit a frozen filling ball in the middle of a disc. Bring the edges up and around, pinch firmly to seal, then roll gently between your palms and set seam side down.
  10. Brush off the excess starch with a dry pastry brush. Serve the same day at room temperature.

Notes

  • Shortcut: ready made black sesame paste can replace steps 1 and 2. Use about 180 g and beat in the powdered sugar and butter to firm it up, since jarred paste is usually too loose to wrap on its own.
  • Dairy free: swap the butter for 45 ml of a neutral oil plus an extra 15 g powdered sugar. The filling stays softer, so keep it frozen right up until wrapping.
  • Steamer method: if you are avoiding the microwave, steam the covered batter over simmering water for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring at the halfway point.
  • Make ahead: the filling keeps 1 week refrigerated or 1 month frozen. Assembled mochi is best on day one. Refrigeration turns the dough hard, so store at room temperature in an airtight box and eat within 24 hours.
  • Troubleshooting: dough tearing as you wrap means it has cooled too far, so microwave it for 10 seconds to soften. Dough sticking to everything means not enough starch, so keep dusting. A chalky, opaque dough is undercooked and needs another 30 seconds.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://zhangcatherine.com/black-sesame-mochi/