Mochi Ice Cream

I get really strange cravings. Like last week, I really wanted to have mochi ice cream, like the ones I could buy from the asian supermarket at home in Vancouver. I did some googling and found some recipes so of course I had to give it a shot! Oh, and just so you know, you are in for a long and photo heavy post!

The recipe I have tried comes from Japanese Ice Cream and Cooking with Dog, they have basically the exact same ingredients and steps. The video that Cooking with Dog has posted is first, super informative and shows you how to do everything step by step so definitely check that out if you want to make some mochi ice cream. Plus the Japanese lady is super cute and I've watched a few more of her youtube videos featuring different Japanese dishes. The one thing I did really differently is that I cooked the mochi in a small sauce pot rather than in the microwave because we don't have one. (Refer to this video as to how to make mochi on the stove.) The mochi dough cooks even quicker on the stove than in the microwave, it just requires more arm strength and stirring! For those in Copenhagen, I bought this glutinous/sticky rice flour at Den Kinesiske Købmand by Nørreport.

Mochi Ice Cream (from Cooking with Dog and Japanese Ice Cream)
Makes 6 to 8 mochi ice cream balls depending on the size

50 g (3.5 tbsp) glutinous/sticky rice flour
100 g (7 tbsp) white sugar
100 ml water (a tad less if you are using 1 tbsp of fruit puree)
1 tbsp fruit jam or puree (optional)
cornstarch as needed
approximately 10 tbsp of ice cream

Start by scooping out 6 or 8 balls of ice cream, more or less ice cream depending on what size you want your ice cream mochis to be. Place ice cream scoops on a cutting board or plate covered with parchment or wax paper. Freeze for approximately 2 hours.

To prepare for the mochi, cover a baking tray or pan generously with cornstarch.

Mix the glutinous/sticky rice flour and the sugar in a saucepan. Slowly add the water and stir until there are no traces of flour left. Optional step, strain the fruit jam or puree through a fine sieve to remove any seeds or lumps. Stir the tablespoon of fruit puree into the wet mixture until combined.

Turn the stove onto medium heat and continuously stir the mixture with a rubber spatula. After two or three minutes, you will notice that the mixture begins to thicken and it will thicken up even more really fast. Keep stirring! Turn the heat down as low as you can and stir rapidly for another minute or two. The mochi dough is ready when it has formed a thick gummy like texture, is shiny and smooth, but still pliable and soft. 

Scrape the mochi dough onto the prepared tray. Sift some more cornstarch over the dough and begin to  push the warm mochi to spread it out over the tray. You want to gently stretch out the mochi with your fingertips, and spread it enough to be able to cover your desired number of ice cream balls. Let the mochi cool for a few minutes before placing it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Take the chilled mochi out of the fridge and divide the dough into enough pieces to cover your desired number of ice cream scoops. Either use the rim of a cup to cut circles out of the mochi, or just cut it with a knife to make square-ish pieces. Gently pick up each mochi wrapper, lightly dust off excess cornstarch and place it on a plate covered with saran wrap. Put a layer of saran wrap over each mochi wrapper and repeat until you have used up all your mochi. Place the mochi wrappers in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour.

Take the mochi sheets and the frozen ice cream scoops out of the freezer. Work quickly so that the ice cream doesn't melt too much! Place the rounded scoop side of ice cream into the middle of the mochi piece and fold the edges up onto the bottom side of the ice cream. Re-wrap in saran wrap and freeze. Repeat with all your remaining ice cream scoops and mochi layers. 

Keep your mochi ice cream in the freezer until you are ready to eat them. Enjoy!

We have been enjoying our mochi ice cream the last two nights for dessert. They're great because you really only need one little ice cream mochi ball to satisfy your sweets/dessert craving! Even the boyfriend who doesn't normally like food with sticky wrapper type things on them (think sticky wrappers on dim sum) is really liking these!

Have you had mochi ice cream before? If not, you need to try making these! It is so strange how I miss foods like this that I haven't had in years. But luckily, I can now make my own! If you try or have tried making your own mochi ice cream, I'd love to hear about your experience with it!