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Home / Recipes / Mochi

Easy Ube Mochi Recipe: Japanese Rice Cake with Ube Filling

Last Updated: Apr 3, 2022 · Author: Honest Food Talks · Jump to Recipe

Ube mochi is difficult to miss with its vibrantly purple rice casing. However, this fusion snack has much more up its sleeve than just its colour. Mochi is a deliciously chewy Japanese rice cake which is taking the world by storm, and if you have never tried this Filipino rice cake dessert before, you’re in for a treat! 

Halaya Daifuku with ice cream as filling
Irresistible sweet Filipino mochi with creamy fillings | Image from ultimateomnoms

Read our helpful guide to find out more, and discover our tried and tested recipe below to make your own easily.

Jump to:
  • What is ube mochi?
  • Taste
  • Calories
  • Ingredients
  • Using powder
  • Using fresh paste
  • Cooking tips
  • How to make Ube paste (halaya) recipe
  • Ube Mochi Recipe

What is ube mochi?

Ube mochi cake is a fusion treat of the classic Japanese sweet snack made with glutinous rice, flavoured with eye-catching purple yam, similar to sweet potato. The bright violet colour of this root vegetable has intrigued people worldwide.

ube mochi recipe on wooden plate
Glutinous rice treat that is symbolically violet! | Image from trufflemore

Originating from the Philippines, the locals use the root vegetable to flavour cakes and other desserts.

Meanwhile, Japanese mochi is chewy and indulgent. First, a sticky rice paste is made through the vigorous pounding of short-grain glutinous rice, known as mochigome. From there, cooks shape the rice paste into balls and serve them with sweet or savoury food or wrapped around a sweet filling. Popular fillings include red bean, matcha and vanilla. 

Taro, another root vegetable that many compare ube to, is also often used to make the sweet paste filling. This is similar to another Asian favourite snack, taro mochi.

While many describe the rice as glutinous, this refers to the sticky consistency as it is gluten-free. 

Taste

The flavour of ube is similar to sweet potato, yet slightly less sugary with subtle creamy vanilla notes. Some compare the taste to taro, a popular root vegetable eaten across Asia. However, traditional cooks rarely use taro in sweet foods. The flavour is savoury and nuttier but is a favourite addition to bubble teas.

We have an article that goes into detail on ube versus taro. Many people often confuse these two root vegetables due to their close similarities.

Ube versus taro infographic by Honest Food Talks
Ube vs Taro | Image from Honest Food Talks

However, the sweetness of the Filipino root vegetable is perfectly balanced in our ube mochi recipe. We made sure to soften the purple vegetable’s sugary taste with that creamy, chewy rice casing.

Calories

One ube mochi cake contains 81 calories. So, we won’t judge if you eat two! In addition, one cooked cup of this starchy vegetable contains only 140 calories meaning it is healthy and delicious. 

light coloured rice cake with black sesame paste filling
Delicious Filipino treat filled with black sesame paste | Image from two_plaid_aprons

Ingredients

For our ube mochi recipe, you will need:

  • Mochiko (sweet rice flour): Rather than steaming and pounding the sticky mochigome yourself, it is much easier, and much less messy, to buy a packet of glutinous rice flour! The flour is easy to buy online these days.
  • Sugar: Some recipes don’t include sugar. However, keeping the paste smooth and pliable is crucial. In addition, sugar helps lengthen the mochi’s shelf-life.
  • Ube flavouring: There are various options for incorporating that deliciously sweet flavour. You can try an ube powder or a paste.

Using powder

Ube powder is concentrated and raw, full of vividly purple colour! This is a great option to make ube mochi if you're looking for convenience. You can use it to make both the creamy filling and the flavoured rice dough. 

ube-dessert-ingredients
Sometimes also known as 'purple yam powder' in Asian grocery stores.

Using the powder is quick and easy. It not only saves you time but also acts as a dye, turning the rice paste bright purple. Plus, it is effortless to buy online.

If you’d like to try our recipe using the flavouring powder, follow these simple steps:

  1. For 1 cup of mochiko, add 1 tablespoon ube powder. Combine in a bowl along with ¼ cup white sugar.
  2. Slowly add 1 cup of water, stirring continuously. Once it is all incorporated, you will have your mochi paste. From there, continue to follow the recipe below.

Using fresh paste

Fresh ube paste is called halaya and is a sweet, creamy mixture of the starchy root vegetable mixed with condensed milk or coconut milk. Be warned, halaya is so delicious you may find yourself eating it before it makes its way into the mochi!

Making halaya from scratch is more time consuming than hydrating the powder. However, if you’re looking for the delicious purple root vegetable flavour, look no further than the real thing. 

ube halaya
Freshly made halaya paste! | Image from sevenfingersbakedgoods

Cooking tips

Cooking these ube mochis are incredibly simple. A top tip is to use your microwave, so the process is really quick and easy. If you don’t have a microwave, preheat your oven to 275°F/135°C, cover your mochi batter in foil and bake for 1 hour.

A thick halaya paste for the filling is ideal, so if you cook it from scratch, make sure it reduces until spreadable.

How to make Ube paste (halaya) recipe

Follow the steps below to make 3 cups of your own paste at home. Preparation should take about 5 minutes, but the whole cooking process will take about 1 hour.

Ingredients

  • 1kg ube (fresh or frozen)
  • 110g sugar
  • 1 354ml can evaporated milk
  • 1 300ml can condensed milk
  • 60g butter

Instructions

  1. First, scrub the ube. Then, put the root vegetable whole in a saucepan covered in water and bring them to a boil. Cook for 30-40 minutes until tender.
  2. Drain the boiled root vegetable. Once they are slightly cooled, peel off the skins and mash the flesh in a bowl.
  3. In a wok or high-sided frying pan, add the mashed root vegetable along with all the other ingredients and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
  4. Stir continuously as the mixture thickens. If left unattended, the paste will burn. Cook for 25 minutes for a jam-like consistency or for 40 minutes for a thick peanut butter texture. The paste will continue to thicken when chilled in the fridge.

Additional Notes

  • Add a couple of drops of purple food colouring to the water in step 1 of the recipe to make your ube mochi extra purple!
  • Store the halaya paste in the fridge for a couple of days, or you can freeze it for a month.
ube mochi recipe on wooden plate

Ube Mochi Recipe

Try this easy ube mochi recipe at home and wow your friends with your cooking skills! By filling them with fresh halaya paste, every mouthful is full of authentic flavour. Feel free to make your own halaya paste by trying our recipe above or by buy it online.
Author: Honest Food Talks
5 from 34 votes
Print Pin
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: mochi, ube
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 81kcal
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sweet rice flour (mochiko)
  • ¼ cup white sugar
  • ½ cup ube paste (halaya) for the batter
  • ¼ cup ube paste (halaya) for the filling
  • 1 cup water
  • Potato starch for dusting

Instructions

  • In a bowl, mix together the mochiko and sugar. Combine the water and ½ cup halaya paste in a jug and slowly add it to the dry ingredients, stirring continuously to make sure there are no lumps.
    Mix the mochiko batter until there are no lumps
  • Pour the batter into a microwavable dish, cover with cling film and cook it on ‘high’ for 5 minutes, checking it at 1-minute intervals. It should gradually thicken and become pliable and sticky as the rice flour cooks. Leave it to cool slightly.
    Microwave the mochi batter in the microwave
  • Tip out the mochi paste onto a clean surface covered in potato starch and cut it into 12 pieces. 
    Flatten the batter and cut into small pieces
  • Flatten each piece into a square and add a teaspoon of halaya paste in the centre. Close the square of rice paste around the filling, making sure it is tightly wrapped and the ball is smooth and round. Repeat with the rest of the ube mochi dough. Sprinkle with a little more potato starch before placing on a serving plate. Serve immediately.
    Place the purple halaya paste in the middle of the rice cake piece before wrapping it into a ball

Nutrition

Calories: 81kcalCarbohydrates: 18gProtein: 1gSodium: 7mgPotassium: 93mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 3363IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 9mg

Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.

Tried this recipe?Follow us @honestfoodtalks for more delicious recipes!

The Autencio Siblings has a great video recipe showing the whole home cooking process! They use some dye and ube condense to add the halaya flavour to their mochi!

Ube Daifuku Mochi

Liked this recipe? Try making it at home and share with us a picture of your delicious sweet dumplings! Then, tag us on Instagram @honestfoodtalks.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Lisa C.

    February 28, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    5 stars
    This turned out so good! Recommended

    Reply

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