How to Make Mochi from Scratch! (w/ a Mochi Maker)

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Making mochi from scratch has never been easier! Just wash and put the soaked sweet white rice into a mochi maker and press GO!

Mochi, basically pounded sweet white rice, is one of my family's favorite foods! That's why we use a mochi maker to easily steam and pound the rice into mochi. Here's what we use:

Ingredients & Equipment

_{**I’ve linked some of these ingredients and equipment to amazon.com to give you an idea of what they are, but you should also be able to find them in your local grocery store (usually, the natural & organic food section). They are also affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission as an Amazon Associate if you decide to purchase the items. The price will be the same for you, link or no link} 🙂

• Glutinous White Rice (also called sweet white rice) - glutinous white rice is different from regular white rice in that it has a sticky, supple, chewy texture when cooked. When steamed and pounded, it becomes the "mochi" or "sweet rice cake" (as we Koreans call it) that is popularly sold in East Asian dessert shops or stores. Here are some examples of Glutinous White Rice online that you can use to make mochi: here and here. (I'm only recommending the Korean and Japanese brands because that's what I used successfully in the past. I haven't ever tried using Thai Sticky Rice to make mochi so I'm not sure if it'll be the same). You can also use Glutinous BROWN Rice--see my other post!

Do PLEASE note that the results will BE VERY DIFFERENT AND NOT THE SAME when using regular long, medium, short grain or sushi rice. So double-check and make sure you're using Glutinous or Sweet Rice when making mochi.

• Mochi Maker- A mochi maker lets you easily turn rice into mochi. I guess it's sort of an equivalent to bread makers for us Asians? The big two brands are Tiger and Zojirushi. You put the raw (uncooked), soaked rice into the mochi maker and let it steam and pound the rice into mochi! It's a handy appliance to have at home if you like mochi and intend to make them regularly, and I like it better than making mochi from rice flour since
  • the whole grain rice is less processed than rice flour
  • cost-saving (since rice is usually cheaper than the flour) **but only if you make and eat a lot of mochi since the machine itself is expensive**
  • makes less of a mess and easier to clean

• Sesame Oil - I personally like using toasted sesame oil when making mochi because it helps adds depth of flavor to the resulting mochi. But you can also use any oil you have at home such as olive oil, coconut oil, or avocado oil.