Make matcha warabimochi at home just like the cafes in Kyoto. Matcha warabimochi is a mochi-like jelly dessert that’s sprinkled with matcha powder and covered with matcha syrup. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.
My toxic trait is watching viral videos of desserts from Japan on social media and thinking I can recreate them at home. The truth is, Japanese cafes are highly specialized, and their desserts are often regional specialties with ingredients and techniques that are nearly impossible to replicate.
But sometimes you can get close! And for those of you who don’t travel to Japan every year, this matcha warabimochi recipe can help satisfy that craving for Kyoto sweets.
What is Matcha Warabimochi?
Warabimochi is a Japanese dessert made from bracken fern starch. Although it has “mochi” in the name, there’s actually no mochi in it. Warabimochi is, however, chewy and dense just like a rice cake. You usually see it cut in squares, dusted with kinako (i.e. roasted soybean powder), and served with a sweet brown sugar syrup called kuromitsu.
Warabimochi is a popular regional specialty from Kansai, which is the area that includes Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara. Kyoto also boasts some of the best matcha in Japan, so in Kyoto and nearby areas, you can find matcha warabimochi!
And now you can recreate your Kyoto dreams at home with this recipe.
Warabimochi Ingredients
The main ingredient in warabimochi is bracken fern starch or honwarabiko. Unfortunately, honwarabiko is hard to manufacture, making it expensive and hard to find. Outside of the Kansai area of Japan, you may only be able to find warabimochiko, which is a substitute starch that can be used to make warabimochi.
The pack of warabimochiko that I found at my local Japanese market used arrowroot starch as a substitute. Other packs may contain sweet potato starch. If you can’t find warabimochiko at an Asian market near you, Amazon has it, but it’s SUPER expensive. I’ve heard that tapioca starch also works very well, so I’d recommend using that instead.
Aside from the starch, warabimochi just requires water and sugar. The amount of water you use is actually up to your preference. Just like with mochi, if you add a little less water, your end texture will have more structure and hold its shape well. If you add more water, you can get a softer and stretchier texture, but it may not be able to be cut into squares. I’ve seen some videos from Japan where the warabimochi is just a blob. But it sure does look soft.
My recipe uses a little bit more water than was recommended in a standard recipe, so it’s a little softer, but it still is able to be cut into squares and hold its shape.
Other than those ingredients, you need some sort of dusting powder, in this case, matcha, and a sweet syrup. I bought a matchamitsu (i.e. sweet matcha syrup) at my Japanese market to go with this dish, but you can use brown sugar syrup or even maple syrup instead.
How to Make Warabimochi
To make warabimochi at home, you mix your warabimochiko with sugar and water. Then you cook it on the stovetop, stirring continuously, until it solidifies into a somewhat clear jelly.
My pack of warabimochiko specifically said that my cooked warabimochi would not become completely translucent. However, I have seen other warabimochi that does appear to be almost completely clear. I assume the differences are due to whatever kind of starch is used, so if you buy a pack of warabimochiko, pay attention to the instructions on the bag!
When your warabimochi is cooked, scoop it into a rectangular container lined with plastic wrap and sprayed with a little water. Let it cool down, then slice into squares. Dust with matcha as you slice so the pieces don’t stick together. Then serve with your sweet syrup of choice!
Warabimochi is served chilled, but be careful! Don’t leave it in the fridge or it will quickly dry out! I keep it in the fridge just until it’s cool and no longer.
What Matcha Should I Use?
For some of my other baked matcha desserts, I recommend using a less expensive matcha with a very strong flavor. HOWEVER, I do not recommend that here. In this recipe, you use matcha to dust a finished product. It does not get baked, and instead, it’s actually the first thing that hits your tongue.
So it’s really important to choose a high quality matcha that’s not too bitter. I recommend using Ippodo Tea. They have light blends of matcha, such as Hatsu, which have a lighter flavor and naturally taste more sweet than bitter.
Did you have any idea that matcha has different blends with different flavors? To learn more about matcha, check out my Ultimate Guide to Matcha!
More Japanese Dessert Recipes
Looking for more Japanese dessert and snack recipes? Check these out:
- Japanese Souffle Pancake Recipe
- Matcha Chiffon Cake
- Ichigo Daifuku Recipe
- One Ingredient Mochi Waffles
- Iced Matcha Latte
Matcha Warabimochi Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g warabimochiko See notes for substitutions
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 600 mL water See notes
- 24 g matcha for dusting about 1/4 cup
- 1 tbsp matchamitsu (matcha syrup)
Instructions
- In a small pot, mix warabimochiko, sugar, and water.
- Place pot over medium-high heat and cook, stirring until the mixture starts to thicken.
- Reduce to medium-low heat and continue stirring. The liquid should begin to clump up and form glue-like lumps. Stir vigorously to evenly cook the jelly.
- When all the liquid has become jelly-like, turn off the heat and continue stirring as the residual heat finishes cooking the remaining liquid and the globs of jelly look uniform in color. It should be much less opaque than in liquid form, but it will not turn 100% translucent.
- Transfer to a small, rectangular container (warabimochi should be about 3/4 inch thick) lined with plastic wrap and lightly sprayed with water. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes or until the warabimochi is no longer hot to touch. Do not leave warabimochi in the fridge too long, or it will harden and dry out.
- Sift a couple teaspoons of matcha on a clean surface and transfer cooled warabimochi on top. Roughly cut warabimochi into 3/4 inch squares and toss in the remaining matcha to cover all sides.
- You can continue to chill warabimochi for up to another hour to let it completely cool before serving with matchamitsu. Warabimochi should be eaten the day it is made, but leftovers can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature as long as they haven't been covered yet in syrup.
Notes
- Warabimochi is made from honwarabiko, which is expensive and very hard to find, or warabimochiko, which is made from a substitute starch. Common substitute starches are made from sweet potato, tapioca, or Japanese arrowroot. Tapioca starch is fairly easy to find in American grocery stores, so you can use that as a substitute even if you can’t find a pack of warabimochiko. Arrowroot starch is also fairly common but may have some slight differences in texture compared to Japanese arrowroot. Use at your own discretion.
- I’ve seen different directions for how to cook warabimochi on stovetop. My specific bag of warabimochiko instructed to boil the liquid and then turn down the heat and that the finished product would be not be completely translucent. I’ve seen other instructions that say NOT to let the mixture boil and that you should cook until perfectly translucent. I assume the differences may depend on the type of starch used. For me, I did not have to wait until the mixture boiled to see the liquid starting to clump up into a jelly, so I turned the heat down at that point and continued cooking until almost all the liquid was gone and the resulting product was fairly translucent and evenly colored.
- You can add more water if you like a softer texture, but the end result will be more blobby and not quite nicely cut into rectangles. I frequently like to use around 600mL water when I want something super soft and stretchy.
- You can buy matchamitsu at Japanese markets, but if you can’t find it, you can also mix a substitute at home. Mix 1/2 tsp matcha with 1 tsp water to form a paste. Then mix the matcha paste with 1 tbsp maple syrup or corn syrup.
- I highly recommend using a light blend of matcha, like Ippodo Tea Wakaki blend, otherwise your warabimochi will taste very bitter.