Mango Cream Mochi Recipe (No Microwave or Steamer)

My super easy mango cream mochi recipe is a stovetop mochi recipe: no microwave or steamer necessary, and just a handful of ingredients too.

Mochi is traditionally made by pounding glutinous (sticky) rice for ages until it becomes a smooth, elastic mass. You can also get machines to do this for you. But the quickest and easest way to make homemade mochi is to use glutinous rice flour.

It's very important you use glutinous or sticky rice flour to make this mango cream mochi recipe rather than regular rice flour: if you use the regular stuff, it just won't result in proper sticky rice cakes. So make sure you double check it says 'glutinous' or 'sticky' on the packaging.

Japanese mochi cakes are often filled with sweet red bean paste. But I decided to pay hommage to one of my favourite Hong Kong desserts, mango cream pancakes, and create a mango and fresh cream filling for my mochi.

I freeze my filling first, but you can pipe it straight into your mochi if you prefer. I personally find freezing balls of filling easier to work with, though.

And because this is a stovetop mochi, you're cooking the mochi ingredients in a pan (or, in my case, wok) on the hob. It only takes about 10–15 minutes to come together.

You can also watch me make this on YouTube:

Ready? Let's go.

(Makes four mochis.)

Ingredients for Filling:

150ml double cream
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 a large ripe mango or half a tin of canned mango, chopped into large chunks

Ingredients for Mochi:

100g glutinous rice flour
180ml water
2 tsp vegetable oil
Cornflour (for dusting)

Method:

1. Whisk the cream with the sugar until thick. Line a small cup or ramekin with clingfilm, and spoon a couple of teaspoonfuls of cream into the centre. Pop in some mango chunks, cover with a couple more teaspoonfuls of cream, and gather up and gently twist the edges of the clingfilm up so you have a loose ball of cream and mango.

2. Repeat until you've used up the cream (you'll make about five balls – one will be left over at the end). Pop your cream parcels in the fridge to freeze for at least four hours or overnight.

3. To make the mochi, generously dust your work surface with cornflour (I use a large baking tray).

4. Stir the glutinous rice flour, water and oil together in a large nonstick pan or wok. Switch the heat onto low to medium, and stir continuously until the mixture becomes super thick and translucent (like slime) – about 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Scrape the mochi straight onto the cornfloured surface, and dust more cornflour on top. Using your hands or a rolling pin, flatten the mochi out while still hot until you have an approximately 8x8" roundish/rectanglish shape. Cover lightly with clingfilm, leave to cool to room temperature, and chill in the fridge for 10 minutes.

6. Cut the chilled mochi into four pieces. Place one piece on a bit of clingfilm, pop a frozen cream ball in the centre, and fold the edges of the mochi up and around the cream, pinching shut. Roll in the excess cornflour on the tray, gently wrap up in the clingfilm, and place in the fridge to defrost slowly for a couple of hours. Repeat with the rest of the mochi segments.

7. Eat your mochi.

Enjoy, and have fun.