If you love donuts, then you're going to have to try this delicious and easy Mochi Donuts recipe! They are addicting, sweet, and chewy just like mochi!

Here are more easy donut recipes: Vanilla Donuts and Halloween Donuts (even though it's not Halloween, you can definitely omit the Halloween garnishes).

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What is Mochi Donuts?
Variations
Substitutions
Storage
Ingredients
Top Tips
FAQ
Easy Mochi Donuts Recipe

What is Mochi Donuts?

Mochi Donuts also known as Pon de Ring Donut is a popular donut from a shop in Japan called Mister Donut, one of the largest donut chains in Japan. Its signature look is the 8 dough balls connected in a circle. It's a chewy yet fluffy donut using two key ingredients that regular donuts don't use: glutinous rice flour and silken tofu.

This recipe is a hybrid of the pon-de-ring donuts and the mochi doughnuts, meaning, I took the signature look of the Pon de Ring Donut (8 dough balls connected in a circle )and used glutinous rice flour like the mochi donut. And it tasted amazing- soft, chewy, and nice to look at.

These mochi donuts are great to serve for a sweet and delicious dessert or snacks during parties or, picnics. Learn this recipe now and enjoy!

two matcha mochi donuts on a white surface

Variations

Glaze: Feel free to use your favorite glaze such as strawberry, vanilla, matcha, chocolate, ube, lemon, or even pandan-flavor glaze.
Toppings: You may sprinkle sesame seeds, powdered sugar, or shredded coconut on top of the donuts to add a nutty flavor and crispy texture.

Substitutions

Glutinous Rice Flour Alternatives: If sweet glutinous rice flour is not available, tapioca flour or potato starch can be used, though the texture will differ a bit.
Gluten-Free Donuts: To achieve the soft texture, blend almond flour with tapioca flour for a gluten-free option.
Regular Donuts: Traditional yeast donuts or cake donuts are a non-chewy option. They won't have the chewiness of mochi, but they're a great substitute.

Storage

Mochi donuts are best eaten fresh, but you may keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1-2 days because they harden quickly, by day 2 the donuts start to harden (even if left on the counter).
You may refrigerate for 3-4 days or freeze for up to a month, but warm before eating to keep the chewy texture. To keep them from drying out, wrap them tightly.
To soften the donuts, microwave the donut for 10-15 seconds. I have a high powdered microwave so 10 seconds was long enough.

chocolate glazed mochi donut on a white surface

Ingredients

Listed below are all the ingredients you will need:

Mochi donut dough:

all-purpose flour
cornstarch
glutinous rice flour
baking powder
granulated sugar
silken tofu
egg
whole milk
vegetable oil

Ube glaze:

powdered sugar
milk
ube extract

Matcha glaze:

white chocolate
heavy cream
Matcha powder

Chocolate glaze:

powdered sugar
cocoa powder
milk

Instructions

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients such as all-purpose flour, cornstarch, glutinous rice flour, baking powder, and sugar:

all-purpose flour, cornstarch, glutinous rice flour and baking powder sifted together in a large bowl

In a separate bowl, press the silken tofu through a fine-mesh sieve. Whisk the egg and milk into the tofu mixture:

silken tofu pressed through a fine-mesh sieve and whisked with egg and milk

Using a spatula, combine the tofu mixture with the flour mixture to form into a rough dough. Knead the dough for 2 minutes until it becomes smooth:

tofu and flour mixture combined in a large stainless bowl and formed into a dough

Using a kitchen scale, weigh-in 7 grams of dough and place it on a silicone mat.

Once the dough has been weighed into smaller pieces, form the dough into smaller balls:

small mochi donut dough weighed on a kitchen scale and formed into smaller balls then placed on a silicone mat

Place eight little balls of dough in a (5x5 inch) square parchment paper and shape into a donut. Repeat the process until all balls are placed in a square parchment paper:

eight balls formed into a donut and placed on a square parchment paper

Heat the oil into a cast iron pan or a heavy-bottomed pot.

Fry the mochi donuts with pieces of parchment paper for 30 seconds to 1 minute at 335 degrees Fahrenheit or until it’s light brown:

frying the mochi donut dough with the parchment paper in a cast iron pan

Turn the mocha donuts and slowly remove the parchment paper and continue frying for another 30 seconds to 1 minute. I cooked this donut too long and it turned brown, this is NOT what you're looking for.

Using a tong, carefully transfer the donuts to a plate lined with paper towels and repeat the frying process to the remaining donuts:

Dip each fried mochi donuts on your favorite glaze and let it set in a cooling wire rack before serving:

fried mochi donuts with ube, matcha and chocolate glaze on a cooling rack with a bowl of each glaze flavor

Voila! Enjoy these delicious mochi donuts with chewy texture and different sweet taste!

Top Tips

Do not overcook the donuts, it will result in a very hard donut. You want a light brown color donut.
Use vegetable oil or canola oil, it's neutral in flavor and has a high smoke point.

FAQ

Do I need to add silken tofu?

Yes. The glutinous rice naturally hardens when it's cool and the tofu helps the texture of the donut stay a bit softer.

Can I use normal rice flour to make them?

No. The flour used for mochi donuts must be glutinous. The glutinous rice flour helps achieve the chewy and stickiness that makes these donuts.

Do you refrigerate mochi donuts?

It's not necessary, they last up to 2-3 days at room temperature. However they harden in the refrigerator, so microwave the donuts to soften it.

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Easy Mochi Donuts Recipe