Habutae Mochi

Habutae Mochi

Habutae mochi is a delicate, pale Japanese confection from Niigata, named for its resemblance to habutae silk. It pairs glutinous rice flour with wheat flour and sugar for a soft, almost translucent cake dusted with potato or corn starch.

Prep

15 min

Cook

25 min

Total

40 min

Serves

8 pieces

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •120 g (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) shiratamako (glutinous rice flour), do not substitute with mochiko alone; the blend with wheat flour is what gives habutae its signature silkiness
• •20 g (2½ tbsp) plain wheat flour (cake or all-purpose)
• •60 g (¼ cup + 2 tsp) caster sugar
• •200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) water, lukewarm
• •30 g (¼ cup) potato starch (or katakuriko), for dusting; corn starch is the common home-substitute

Steps

1. 1 Line a square 18 cm (7 in) baking pan or steaming dish with a sheet of parchment, or lightly oil and dust it with starch.
2. 2 In a medium bowl, whisk together the shiratamako, wheat flour and sugar until evenly combined and lump-free.
3. 3 Gradually pour in the lukewarm water while whisking continuously with chopsticks or a small whisk, working from the center outward so no dry pockets remain. The batter should be smooth, pourable, and slightly thinner than heavy cream.
4. 4 Strain the batter through a fine-mesh sieve into the prepared pan to catch any remaining lumps.
5. 5 Set up a steamer (a wide pot with a rack and 2–3 cm / about 1 in of simmering water). When the water is at a steady boil, place the pan in the steamer, cover with a lid, and steam over medium heat for 20 minutes.
6. 6 To check doneness: the surface should look matte and slightly translucent rather than wet or milky; press gently in the center with a fingertip - it should spring back with no stickiness. The internal temperature at the center should read at least 95 °C / 200 °F.
7. 7 Lift the block out of the pan using the parchment and let it cool on a rack until just warm, about 15 minutes.
8. 8 Dust a clean work surface and a long knife generously with potato starch. Invert the mochi block onto the surface and coat all sides with more starch so it is no longer tacky.
9. 9 Cut into 8 even rectangles with a starch-dusted knife, dusting the cut faces again so they stay dry.
10. 10 Serve at room temperature, traditionally with kinako (roasted soybean flour) mixed with sugar, or simply dusted with a little extra starch. Keeps in an airtight container, well dusted, for 1 day.