✔ Updated · step photos, a parchment-square trick and two glazes
Mochi donuts are rings of little chewy balls you pull apart one by one: crisp outside, bouncy and stretchy inside. This is my easy home version, with a parchment-square trick that makes the rings far less fiddly than they look.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Pipe each ring onto its own square of parchment and lower the whole thing into the oil. The paper peels away after 30 seconds and the ring keeps its shape.
Why You'll Love These Mochi Donuts
- That chew, the bouncy pull-apart texture you get from sweet rice flour.
- No yeast, no rising, so you go from bowl to glaze in under an hour.
- Glaze them any way, vanilla bean, strawberry, matcha or chocolate.
What You Need for Mochi Donuts
- Mochiko: sweet glutinous rice flour. This is what gives the chew.
- Tapioca starch: keeps the donuts light and bouncy rather than dense.
- Milk, egg and melted shortening: make a smooth, pipeable dough.
- Parchment squares and a piping bag: the easy way to make neat rings.
- Powdered sugar and flavors: for the vanilla bean and strawberry glazes.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Use mochiko, not regular rice flour. It has to be sweet glutinous rice flour. Regular rice flour fries up gritty and hard, and you lose the chew completely.
- Check the dough before you pipe. It should be thick enough to hold a ball shape. Too runny? Add tapioca starch a tablespoon at a time. Too stiff to pipe? Add milk a teaspoon at a time.
- Watch the oil. I clip a thermometer to the pot and keep it at 350°F. Hotter and the outside browns before the middle cooks; cooler and the donuts drink oil and go greasy.
- Pale is right. Mochi donuts should be light golden, not deep brown. Pull them when they're puffed and just colored.
- Glaze slightly warm. The glaze sets into a thin, smooth shell on a warm donut. On a hot one it slides straight off, and yes, I learned that the sticky way.
- Eat them the same day. The chew is best within a few hours. A day-old donut perks up with 8 to 10 seconds in the microwave.
Mochi Donuts
10
donuts25
minutes20
minutes240
kcal45
minutesHomemade mochi donuts: a chewy dough of mochiko (sweet rice flour) and tapioca starch piped into rings of 8 little balls, fried until crisp outside and bouncy inside, then dipped in a vanilla bean or strawberry glaze. Makes 10 donuts.
Ingredients
- For the donuts
1 cup + 1 tablespoon mochiko (sweet glutinous rice flour)
3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons tapioca starch
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
2/3 cup whole milk, warm
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening or butter, melted
about 6 cups neutral oil, for frying
- For the vanilla bean glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- For the strawberry glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoons strawberry jam, strained (or 1 tablespoon freeze-dried strawberry powder)
Directions
- Make the dough
- Cut ten 4-inch squares of parchment paper. Draw a 2 1/2-inch circle on a sheet of paper as a guide to slide under each square.
- Whisk the mochiko, tapioca starch, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk the warm milk, egg and melted shortening together, pour into the dry ingredients and stir until you have a smooth, thick, sticky dough with no dry streaks. It should hold its shape when piped.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (about 1/2 inch). Pipe 8 touching balls in a ring on each parchment square, following your circle guide.
- Fry and glaze
- Heat 2 inches of oil in a heavy pot to 350°F. Lower 2 or 3 donuts into the oil, paper side up. After about 30 seconds, pull off the parchment with tongs.
- Fry for about 2 minutes per side, until puffed and light golden. Drain on a wire rack and repeat, letting the oil come back to 350°F between batches.
- Whisk each glaze until it runs like maple syrup. Dip the top of each slightly warm donut, let the extra drip off and set on the rack for 10 minutes to firm up.
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Glaze Ideas
Start with 1 cup powdered sugar and 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons milk, then add one of these.
- Matcha: 1 teaspoon matcha powder.
- Chocolate: 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and an extra splash of milk.
- Ube: 1/2 teaspoon ube extract.
- Black sesame: 1 tablespoon black sesame paste.
- Cookies and cream: vanilla glaze topped with crushed chocolate sandwich cookies.
More Sweet Treats
Love the chew? Try my Hawaiian butter mochi, or browse my Asian desserts for more ideas. For another fried treat, the Disney-inspired churros are a family favorite.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a mochi donut?
A mochi donut is a ring of eight small joined dough balls made with sweet rice flour (mochiko) and tapioca starch. It fries up crisp outside and chewy inside. The shape is often called pon de ring, and Hawaii bakeries helped make them popular in the US.
What flour do you need for mochi donuts?
Use mochiko or another sweet glutinous rice flour, plus tapioca starch. Regular rice flour or all-purpose flour won't give the stretchy, bouncy chew. Look for mochiko in Asian grocery stores or the international aisle.
Are mochi donuts gluten-free?
Mochiko and tapioca starch are naturally gluten-free, and this recipe uses no wheat flour. Check that your baking powder and any glaze flavorings are certified gluten-free if you're cooking for someone with celiac disease.
Can you bake mochi donuts instead of frying?
You can bake the dough in a greased donut pan at 350°F for about 15 to 18 minutes. Baked mochi donuts are chewy but soft all over, without the crisp outer shell or the pull-apart ring shape.
How do you store mochi donuts?
They are best the day they're made. Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day; don't refrigerate, because the rice flour turns hard. Warm for 8 to 10 seconds in the microwave to bring back the chew.
