Ready for a healthy Japanese recipe that is also sweet and will be a hit with the whole family? Then apple daifuku mochi is for you. While you might have to visit a Japanese grocery store or do some online shopping for some of the ingredients in this recipe, the preparation and cooking process itself are straightforward and easy in any home kitchen. Daifuku mochi is very popular in Japanese food culture. This apple version gives a nod to American apple pie, making it a great fusion dessert dish to play with. Enjoy our easy-to-follow recipe and video, and see below for more information and some cooking tips.
What Is Daifuku?
Daifuku is a small, round sweet that is a staple part of Japanese culture and tradition. It literally means “great luck,” and is said to impart good fortune on those who eat it. The most basic version has sweet red bean paste in thin mochi wrap, which can be a great snack or dessert. In America, the most famous kinds of daifuku is ice cream daifuku (mochi ice cream). This is served in a variety of different Asian restaurants and is becoming increasingly popular as a mainstream dessert item.
But Daifuku actually has many types. Here is a quick breakdown of the most common types in Japanese food culture:
Mame Daifuku – This common and traditional daifuku is stuffed with anko (red bean paste), a type of sweet that was commonly used all over Japan before sugar was brought to the island.
Ichigo Daifuku – Mostly popular during the strawberry season in Japan (January to March), this yummy daifuku comes with fresh strawberries and cream.
Ume Daifuku – A special springtime daifuku that is full of sweetened Japanese plum.
Yomogi Daifuku – This very traditional style of daifuku is made with the herb mugwort. The herb has medicinal properties and gives the mochi a strong flavor.
Purin Daifuku – A creamy and sweet delicacy, insider of this daifuku is delicious Japanese caramel custard pudding (purin).
Matcha Daifuku – Filled with a sweet cream flavored with powdered green tea (matcha), these awesome daifukus are quite addictive.
Yuzu Daifuku – Yuzu is a Japanese citrus fruit that tastes a bit like a grapefruit and is strongly astringent. Most yuzu daifukus use candied yuzu mixed into anko.
Coffee Daifuku – A sweet coffee cream fill this non-traditional, but extremely popular, daifuku.
Cooking Tips
- A key technique to making the perfect apple daifuku is to dry the apple compotes as much as possible before putting them onto the mochi. This makes them so much easier to wrap around without sticking to the mochi and staining it with their color.
- Before wrapping the apple compote in the mochi, you can place a teaspoon of red bean paste in the mix to add flavor and sweetness to the daifuku.
Apple Daifuku Mochi
Ingredients
Apple Compote
- ½ Apple, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- Drops of Lemon Juice
Outer Mochi
- 1 cup Shiratama Powder
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ¾ cup Water
- Katakuri Powder
Instructions
- In microwavable bowl, add apple, sugar and lemon juice. Microwave it for about 4 minutes.
- Pat dry apples and cool them down in the refrigerator.
- Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Dust the surface with plenty of katakuri powder. Set it aside.
- In another microwavable bowl, add shiratama powder, sugar and water to make outer mochi. Mix well.
- Cover with plastic wrap and microwave it for about 2 minutes.
- Remove the plastic wrap and mix well. Cover the bowl again and microwave for additional 2 minutes.
- Take the bowl out and pour the mochi out on the katakuri powder.
- Roll the mochi so the katakuri powder covers everything.
- Split the mochi into 6 parts (be careful it’s really hot, but the mochi gets too hard to separate once cooled down).
- Place plastic wrap on a surface. Dust with katakuri powder.
- Place 1 mochi on top. Roll a bit so katakuri powder covers mochi. Using your palm, flatten the mochi.
Place apple compote on top. Using plastic wrap, cover apple with mochi and make a round shape.
Enjoy!!
