Time for another fun mochi twist: persimmon daifuku! While daifuku is traditionally stuffed with bean paste and sometimes a strawberry, switching up the fruit means you have mochi for every season. Persimmon, known as kaki in Japan, is a great flavor for fall!
Hello, everyone! Time for another segment in my popular Instagram/Tiktok series: What’s in the Daifuku?? This daifuku flavor is *drumroll* …. PERSIMMON!
What is Daifuku?
Daifuku or daifuku mochi is a type of mochi dessert from Japan. It consists of a round ball of mochi dough, also called gyuhi, stuffed with red bean paste. It can also have a strawberry in the middle. These days there are also many modern mochi shops in Japan selling daifuku with all sorts of fillings.
Interestingly, daifuku with various fruit fillings is also a very popular snack in Hawai’i! For more information about mochi, check out my Ultimate Guide to Mochi.
What Kind of Persimmon to Use for Daifuku Mochi?
I pretty much exclusively eat fuyu persimmons. You don’t have to worry about them being super duper perfectly ripe in order for them to be sweet and delicious, unlike with hachiya. Being able to use a crunchier variety like fuyu also makes it easier to wrap in mochi. Although, I suppose if you wanted to do a persimmon jam instead of a whole chunk of persimmon, hachiya would work fine.
In any case, I recommend fuyu persimmons for this recipe. Side note: Do you eat persimmons with the skin on? I do, and some people have called me a monster for it.
Other Ingredients for Daifuku
Besides persimmons, you will also need shiroan, which is white bean paste. I typically buy mine at the Japanese market. Unfortunately, it is not available on Amazon, but I do have an easy shiroan recipe to make it from scratch, just as long as you have a pressure cooker.
For the mochi layer, you will need either mochiko or shiratamako. These are both rice flours made from the same sweet rice as mochi. Mochiko is more commonly available in the US and is also cheaper. Shiratamako is milled differently to make it absorb water better, resulting in a softer mochi. I prefer shiratamako, but it is harder to find and more expensive. Both shiratamako and mochiko can be found on Amazon!
Lastly, I do recommend picking up some potato starch for dusting. This is how you keep the mochi from sticking to each other and your hands. Although cornstarch can be used as a substitute, I think the flavor just tastes off. I much prefer potato starch, which can also be found on Amazon!
Making Mochi in the Microwave
These days, I always make my mochi layer for daifuku in the microwave. It’s so easy! Just mix your rice flour, water, and sugar. Then microwave 2-3 minutes until it becomes translucent. If you don’t have a microwave, you can always steam your mochi on stovetop for about 15 minutes.
How to Assemble Daifuku
Can I let you in on a secret? All my daifuku recipes are pretty much the same. Take a small piece of fruit, wrap it in a ping pong ball sized glob of bean paste, and then wrap a layer of mochi dough around it. Switch out the fruit, the bean paste, and flavor the mochi different colors, and the options for daifuku are endless!
You’ll notice that my photos of this daifuku are a little different from previous ones in that they have a little decoration on top. This leaf decoration is entirely optional, but I thought it would be cute to decorate the persimmon daifuku like an actual persimmon. The decoration itself is made out of nerikiri, which is another type of Japanese dessert. Nerikiri is a wagashi (aka Japanese sweet) made from mixing white bean paste and a mochi-like dough into something like play-dough. Similar to marzipan, you can then sculpt nerikiri into a variety of shapes and dye it a variety of colors. There are some really gorgeous nerikiri artists out there, and I am not on that level, so I just cut out some very crude shaped leaves out of mine.
In any case, feel free to skip the nerikiri step if you find it too complicated.
More Mochi Desserts
If you liked this recipe, you should check out my other daifuku for inspiration!
Kaki Daifuku (Persimmon Stuffed Mochi)
Ingredients
For Daifuku
- 1 persimmon cut into 6 small wedges
- 180 g white bean paste (shiroan) about half a storebought package or 3/4 cup
- 100 g shiratamako can substitute mochiko
- 20 g sugar 2 tbsp
- 100 g water
- 1 drop orange food coloring optional
- katakuriko (potato starch) for dusting
For Optional Nerikiri Decoration
- 1 tbsp shiratamako
- 1/2 tbsp water
- 60 g shiroan 1/4 cup
- green food coloring
Instructions
For Daifuku
- Divide white bean paste into 6 balls. Stuff each bean paste ball with a small wedge of persimmon. Set aside while you prepare the mochi dough.
- Add shiratamako, sugar, water, and food coloring (if using) in a bowl. Mix to combine.
- Transfer mochi batter to microwave safe bowl (I line my bowl with a damp washcloth) and cover well with plastic wrap, another dish, or other cover. Microwave for 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
- Carefully dump cooked mochi onto a surface lightly dusted with katakuriko. Divide into six pieces. While you work with one piece, keep the others covered with a damp cloth so they don't dry out.
- Flatten one piece (either with a small rolling pin or your hand) of mochi dough. Place a shiroan wrapped persimmon in the center.
- Wrap the mochi around the ball, pinching the edges to seal them. Dust in katakuriko.
- Repeat for the rest of the 5 pieces. You can enjoy as is, or decorate with a little nerikiri persimmon leaf on top.
For Optional Nerikiri Leaf Decoration
- Add shiratamako and water in a microwave safe bowl. Zap in the microwave for 5-10 seconds, or until the batter turns translucent.
- Add 60g of shiroan and food coloring. Knead everything together until it forms a dough. Place in fridge to cool.
- When ready to use, roll out like cookie dough and use a knife or cookie cutter to cut out a leaf shape.