Go Back Email Link
–+ servings
Print

Chewy Pan-Fried Sweet Potato Mochi

Mashed sweet potato kneaded with glutinous rice flour and pan-fried into small rounds with a crisp golden face and a dense, chewy interior. One bowl, no yeast, no eggs.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Japanese
Keyword chewy pan-fried sweet potato mochi
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Mochi

  • 1 pound Japanese sweet potatoes about 2 medium, or orange sweet potatoes
  • ¾ cup glutinous rice flour mochiko or shiratamako, plus more as needed
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk up to 4 tablespoons, as needed
  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil for the pan

For the Glaze (Optional)

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon toasted black sesame seeds

Instructions

Make the Dough

  • Peel and cube the sweet potatoes and steam them 15 to 18 minutes, until a fork goes through with no resistance.
  • Mash the hot sweet potato in a large bowl with the sugar, salt, and softened butter until mostly smooth.
  • Add the glutinous rice flour in three additions, stirring with a wooden spoon and then working it by hand. Knead in the bowl about 2 minutes, until the dough stops sticking and holds a smooth ball with the feel of soft play clay. Add flour a tablespoon at a time if sticky, or warm milk a teaspoon at a time if it cracks.

Shape and Fry

  • Divide the dough into 12 pieces, roll each into a ball, and flatten to about 2 inches across and ½ inch thick, keeping the thickness even.
  • Heat the oil in a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium heat. Fry the rounds in batches about 3 minutes per side, until each face is deep golden with a crisp shell. Do not crowd the pan or raise the heat.
  • For the glaze, simmer the soy sauce, sugar, and water in a small pan 1 minute until slightly syrupy. Brush over the hot rounds and finish with sesame seeds. Serve right away.

Notes

  • Use glutinous rice flour, not rice flour: regular rice flour has none of the starch that gives the chew and the rounds turn hard.
  • Mash while hot: hot mash takes up the flour cleanly, cold mash resists it.
  • Adjust the flour every time: sweet potato moisture varies, so go by the feel of the dough rather than the cup measure.
  • Keep the heat at medium: higher and the crust colors before the middle warms through.
  • Storage: 3 days refrigerated, reheated in a dry pan; shaped uncooked rounds freeze 1 month and fry from frozen.