The ultimate dream team: strawberry and mochi! Strawberry Daifuku is a beloved Japanese confection that is made of fresh strawberries wrapped in sweet red bean paste and bundled in a soft chewy mochi shell. The combination of the juicy strawberry, the fudgy red bean paste, and the soft mochi is truly a one of kind flavor and texture experience that will leave many begging for more.
Making strawberry daifuku at home is not as hard as you think! Plus, you'll be able to customize the sweetness and freshness of the ingredients, and of course - impress the heck out of your friends and family!
Why I Love Strawberry Daifuku Mochi
- Gluten-free, vegan and only 76 calories EACH
- The textural contrast of the juicy strawberries, fudgy red bean paste, and soft chewy mochi
- So pretty on the eyes and easy to impress
- Unique and irresistible Japanese delicacy
Ingredients Used to Make Strawberry Daifuku Mochi
**I've linked some of these ingredients 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 🙂
- Fresh Strawberries - you can't make strawberry daifuku without strawberries! For this recipe, you'll need fresh strawberries that are ripe but fresh enough that they are still firm. Frozen strawberries will not work for this recipe.
- Sweetened Red Bean Paste (a.k.a. Koshi An): Red bean paste (also called Koshi An) is a thick and smooth sweet paste made from cooked adzuki red beans that’s been pureed and then cooked down with sugar. The sweetened red bean paste has a sweet almost syrupy flavor with mild earthy notes. It has a creamy and hearty texture that pairs perfectly with East Asian dessert recipes, especially those made with rice flour. You can find Sweetened Red Bean paste in most Asian grocery stores, and online (Amazon).
- Glutinous Rice Flour - this goes by many names. You'll see Glutinous Rice Flour and Mochiko Flour (my favorite brand) in Asian grocery stores, and Sweet White Rice Flour in most other stores. ***Please note that regular white rice flour or brown rice flour is NOT the same thing as glutinous rice flour!!!
- Water - to make the mochi dough
- Corn starch or tapioca starch - to coat the mochi and keep it from sticking to your hands. You can also use light olive oil instead.
Step by Step Recipe
How to Make Strawberry Daifuku Mochi
Step 1:
In a microwave safe bowl, mix 1 cup of mochiko flour with 1 cup of water
Step 2:
Stir well and microwave the mixture for 90 seconds.
Step 3:
Use a SOLID metal spoon to thoroughly mix the mochi mixture and return to the microwave - heat 60 more seconds until hot and steaming.
Step 4:
Mix well until the mochi mixture is somewhat translucent, and pour into a clean pan sprinkled with corn starch or tapioca starch.
Step 5
Let cool slightly and flatten using your hands (THE MOCHI WILL BE HOT so wear vinyl or rubber gloves to keep your hands safe!) Use kitchen shears to cut the mochi mixture into 8 pieces. Set aside.
Cover the strawberries with the sweetened red bean paste and roll into balls. Scrape the red bean paste off the base of the strawberry so that you can tell which end is the base (see next step to see what I mean!)
Wrap the prepared mochi square around the strawberry-red bean paste filling with the tip of the strawberries pointed towards the middle of the square.
Pinch the edges tightly to seal. (TIP: You can use scissors to cut off the excess mochi.
Roll and press the finished mochi between your palms to finish shaping.
Once the mochi cools you can use a sharp knife to cut the mochi in half. Enjoy!
Fun Recipe Variations
Variation 1: Use Other Fruits
- Strawberry tends to be everyone's favorite fruit mochi, but you can also wrap other soft fruits with mochi, like peeled mandarin oranges, kiwi, grapes and banana. You can get a pretty good idea of it by searching for "fresh fruit mochi" on the web.
Variation 2: Use White Bean Paste
How are you supposed to eat mochi?
- This mochi is best when eaten right after it's made. Once it's dried out or refrigerated, the mochi texture loses the chewy, supple texture and becomes waxy and hard.
How to Store
- Unfortunately, this is one mochi that does NOT store well in the fridge or freezer (it's because of the strawberry). You should aim to eat this immediately or at least within 6-12 hours.
Final Tips
- Dried out mochi does NOT taste good. When shaping the mochi, either keep the mochi covered in plastic wrap or a wet kitchen towel to keep it from drying out. After the mochi are made, store them inside an air-tight container.
Homemade Strawberry Daifuku Mochi (only 4 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup mochiko flour, sweet rice or glutinous rice flour
- 1 cup water
- 8 medium strawberries
- ½ pkg sweetened adzuki beans
Instructions
First, prepare the strawberry filing
- Cover the strawberries with the sweetened adzuki beans and roll into balls. Scrape the red bean paste off the base of the strawberries.
- Repeat with the rest of the strawberries and set aside.
Make the mochi dough
- In a microwave safe bowl, mix 1 cup of mochiko flour with 1 cup of water
- Stir well and microwave the mixture for 90 seconds.
- Use a SOLID metal spoon to thoroughly mix the mochi mixture and return to the microwave - heat 60 more seconds until hot and steaming.
- Mix well until the mochi mixture is somewhat translucent, and pour into a clean pan sprinkled with corn starch or tapioca starch.
- Let cool slightly and flatten using your hands (THE MOCHI WILL BE HOT so wear vinyl or rubber gloves to keep your hands safe!) Use kitchen shears to cut the mochi mixture into 8 pieces.
Shape the Mochi
- Cover the strawberries with the sweetened red bean paste and roll into balls. Scrape the red bean paste off the base of the strawberry so that you can tell which end is the base (see next step to see what I mean!)
- Wrap the prepared mochi square around the strawberry-red bean paste filling with the tip of the strawberries pointed towards the middle of the square.
- Pinch the edges tightly to seal. (TIP: You can use scissors to cut off the excess mochi)
- Once the mochi cools you can use a sharp knife to cut the mochi in half. Enjoy!
Kat says
Bora, this is my favorite type of mochi ever! 😸