I often see those little caterpillar circles on social media; they're quite cute, and I've made them a few times myself. However, I've recently started making them as small, round doughnuts instead, which is much less of a hassle. They resemble doughnut holes and have the taste of yeasted doughnuts, yet they're a bit denser upon chewing.
I've come across numerous recipes calling for glutinous sweet rice flour, also known as mochi flour, which is a key ingredient in this dish. After years of searching, I finally found it at Market Kokoro online and later visited their store in Sandton. Recently, I've noticed it's also available at various Asian online stores. Typically, recipes that include 'Mochi' in the title will use this flour. While it's not the easiest to find, it's certainly worth the search.
Ideas, Advice and Suggestions
Glutinous sweet rice flour or Mochi Flour – Rice flour is one of my favorite gluten-free products. Do not use other rice flours as a substitute; they will not work. In fact, if you can't find glutinous sweet rice flour, it's better to try another recipe that doesn't specify this flour. It has a unique taste and texture that I haven't found in any other product.
Sugar – I use granulated white sugar.
Baking powder – makes the doughnuts to be light and
fluffy.
Butter or Cooking Margerine – Both work very well. I typically use salted butter, but unsalted butter is also suitable.
Hot water (boil in a pot) – I find I get a better
product if is make sure the water I’m adding is very hot, plus I add the butter
or margarine, and they melt better is hot water.
Frying oil – Any type of frying oil is suitable; I typically use sunflower oil.
Tapioca starch or Corn starch – You won't always require this, but occasionally, the dough becomes very sticky after resting. Adding more rice flour doesn't consistently resolve the stickiness, necessitating another resting period. When I used a gluten-free flour blend, the frying oil kept spitting and burning me. I haven't attempted using all-purpose flour due to dietary restrictions. However, both tapioca starch and cornstarch have proven effective and do not require a second rest.
Sugar or Cinnamon & Sugar : Granulated white sugar can be used if you prefer plain sugar. The combination of caster sugar and cinnamon provides a delightful coating for the doughnuts.
Mochi Doughnuts
Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 5 min
Total Time: 15 min
Servings: 16 Doughnut-hole sized Doughnuts
Level of Difficulty: Easy
The Origin of the Recipe: tastemade.com
Diet: Gluten-Free
A gluten-free snack, these Mochi Doughnuts are perfect for dessert. Learn how to make these chewy, delightful treats with this easy recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups (150g) glutinous sweet rice flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp (14.2g) butter or cooking margarine
- 140ml (1/2 cup and 1 tbsp) hot water (boil in a pot)
- Frying oil
- Tapioca or Corn starch
- Sugar Or
- Cinnamon & Sugar:
- ½ cup Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon powder
Doughtnuts
Coating after frying
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients for dough except hot water and butter or margarine and mix well.
- Add the butter or margarine to the water and bring to a boil.
- Slowly add hot water and keep mixing with a spatula. It should look really wet at first.
- Cover and set aside for 1 to 2 hours.
- Mix dough again with a spatula. Dough should be more formed now.
- Brush a thin layer of oil on a cookie sheet.
- Meanwhile, divide dough into 14-16 little doughnuts by rolling them with the palms of your hands. If the dough is sticky or too soft to form balls use tapioca or corn starch to improve the texture (don’t use a GF blend flour as it can cause the oil to spit). Extra glutinous sweet rice flour needs to be absorbed and tends to stay sticky.
- Place doughnuts on oiled cookie sheet. Method 1
- Heat frying oil to 350°F/180°c over high heat.
- Place doughnuts one by one into hot oil, about 4-6 at a time. They will increase in size, so do not crowd pot.
- As soon as doughs puffed up, turn off heat and keep frying until fully cooked and golden, about 3-4 minutes. Continue to rotate evenly in oil to ensure even cooking.
- Remove from pan, drain excess oil and roll in sugar or cinnamon sugar.
- Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Enjoy! Method 2
- Using a thermometer heat frying oil to 350°F/180°C over medium heat.
- Place doughnuts one by one into hot oil, about 4-6 at a time. They will increase in size, so do not crowd pot.
- Watch the oil temperature turn the plate down slightly and take the oil off the plate for a couple of minutes if you're finding the oil is getting too hot make sure that when you're adding doughnuts the temperature does not dip below 325°F/165°C. Continue to rotate evenly in oil to ensure even cooking.
- Remove from pan, drain excess oil and roll in sugar or cinnamon sugar.
- Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Enjoy!