Lucky Charm Mochi

A Japanese twist on St. Patrick’s Day, we’re making homemade mochi in the shape of Lucky Charms Cereal! Mochi is a very soft, chewy rice cake and this is my favorite way of making it because it is so soft, sticky and insanely easy to make!

Ingredients for Lucky Charm Mochi

• shiratama ko flour – This is the KEY to this recipe! This is a very specific type of rice flour. It looks quite jagged and lumpy, but don’t worry – this is natural! I haven’t had success substituting it with any other types of rice flour, so you must use this specific type. Don’t worry though, you can get it here on Amazon!
• water
• food coloring – I like to use gel food coloring because the dough is so sensitive to any additional water that liquid food coloring might throw off the ratio too much.

How to Make Lucky Charm Mochi

Make the mochi dough.

Place the rice flour into a bowl and gradually add the water. Knead with a spoon until the dough forms into one piece and is firm enough for a piece of dough to be rolled into a ball and retain its form when placed down. Depending on the humidity of your environment, you may need to add a bit more flour or water, but do so very(!) gradually.

Divide the dough into 8 portions. Each portion will be used for one Lucky Charm. Be sure to line your plate, tray or work surface with plastic wrap because the dough will stick otherwise!

Dye and shape the dumplings.

Heart – Dye the dough a pale pink. Press a divot down into the top of the dough, then shape the dough on both sides of the divot into a heart shape.
Shooting Star – Dye 2/3 of the dough pale orange. Leave the remaining dough white. Divide the orange dough into 6 pieces. Roll 5 pieces into balls, then pinch one end to create a point. Stick these 5 pieces together with the points facing outward to create the star. Roll the remaining orange piece into a short sausage. Divide the white dough in half and roll it into 2 sausages. Stick these onto one side of the star to create its tail.

Horseshoe – Dye the dough pale purple. Roll it into a 3-inch long sausage. Shape it into an arch, then gently flatten and pinch the ends with your fingers to create the horseshoe shape.
Hat – Dye the dough pale green. Remove about ¼ of the dough and add a little bit more green food coloring to dye it a darker green. Shape the light green dough into a thick rectangle, then pitch the base to create the hat shape. Shape the dark green dough into a clover and stick it onto the hat.
Moon – Dye the dough pale blue. Shape it into a crescent shape, then pinch the middle of the crescent to create the nose.

Pot of Gold – Dye 2/3 of the dough yellow and shape it into the pot. Dye the remaining dough pale orange and roll it into 5 balls. Stick the balls on top of the pot to create a mound.
Rainbow – Divide the dough into 3 pieces, increasing in size. Dye the smallest piece light pink, the middle piece yellow and the largest piece pale blue. Roll them into sausages of the same width. Shape the pink sausage into a small arch. Wrap the yellow sausage around the top of the pink arch, followed by the blue dough. Trim the base of the rainbow if necessary to create an even base.
Balloon – Dye the dough a very pale red. You can use a tiny amount of both red and pink dye to create a pinky red color. Remove about 1/6 of the dough and shape it into a rectangle. Shape the remaining dough into an oval, then stick the rectangle onto the base.

Boil the mochi.

To cook, drop the mochi into a pot of boiling water. Once they float to the surface, boil for about 2 minutes, until the dumplings are fully cooked. If the middle of the dumplings still looks darker than the edges, keep boiling until the external color on each dumpling is uniform. Once they are fully cooked, immediately drain and place them in a bath of cold water. This will stop them from cooking and getting too mushy.

Serve!

These can be eaten on their own, however they taste much better with sauce! You can use any syrup that you like, but my favorite is my coconut brown sugar sauce from my Coconut Heart Dumplings recipe. These are best served immediately.

More Lucky Charms Recipes to Try!

Homemade Lucky Charms Marshmallows

Lucky Charms Marshmallow Cake

DIY Lucky Charms Ice Cream Cones

Lucky Charm Mochi

A Japanese twist on St. Patrick's Day, we're making homemade mochi in the shape of Lucky Charms Cereal!

Course dessert

Cuisine japanese

Servings 8 pieces

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup shiratamako rice flour
• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp water
• red, pink, orange, yellow, blue and purple food coloring

Instructions

• Place the rice flour into a bowl and gradually add the water. Knead with a spoon until the dough forms into one piece and is firm enough for a piece of dough to be rolled into a ball and retain its form when placed down. Depending on the humidity of your environment, you may need to add a bit more flour or water, but do so very(!) gradually.
• Divide the dough into 8 portions. Each portion will be used for one Lucky Charm. Be sure to line your plate, tray or work surface with plastic wrap because the dough will stick otherwise!
• Dye and shape the dumplings.
• Heart – Dye the dough a pale pink. Press a divot down into the top of the dough, then shape the dough on both sides of the divot into a heart shape.
• Shooting Star – Dye 2/3 of the dough pale orange. Leave the remaining dough white. Divide the orange dough into 6 pieces. Roll 5 pieces into balls, then pinch one end to create a point. Stick these 5 pieces together with the points facing outward to create the star. Roll the remaining orange piece into a short sausage. Divide the white dough in half and roll it into 2 sausages. Stick these onto one side of the star to create its tail.
• Horseshoe – Dye the dough pale purple. Roll it into a 3-inch long sausage. Shape it into an arch, then gently flatten and pinch the ends with your fingers to create the horseshoe shape.
• Hat – Dye the dough pale green. Remove about ¼ of the dough and add a little bit more green food coloring to dye it a darker green. Shape the light green dough into a thick rectangle, then pitch the base to create the hat shape. Shape the dark green dough into a clover and stick it onto the hat.
• Moon – Dye the dough pale blue. Shape it into a crescent shape, then pinch the middle of the crescent to create the nose.
• Pot of Gold – Dye 2/3 of the dough yellow and shape it into the pot. Dye the remaining dough pale orange and roll it into 5 balls. Stick the balls on top of the pot to create a mound.
• Rainbow – Divide the dough into 3 pieces, increasing in size. Dye the smallest piece light pink, the middle piece yellow and the largest piece pale blue. Roll them into sausages of the same width. Shape the pink sausage into a small arch. Wrap the yellow sausage around the top of the pink arch, followed by the blue dough. Trim the base of the rainbow if necessary to create an even base.
• Balloon – Dye the dough a very pale red. You can use a tiny amount of both red and pink dye to create a pinky red color. Remove about 1/6 of the dough and shape it into a rectangle. Shape the remaining dough into an oval, then stick the rectangle onto the base.
• To cook, drop the mochi into a pot of boiling water. Once they float to the surface, boil for about 2 minutes, until the dumplings are fully cooked. If the middle of the dumplings still looks darker than the edges, keep boiling until the external color on each dumpling is uniform.
• Once they are fully cooked, immediately drain and place them in a bath of cold water. This will stop them from cooking and getting too mushy.
• These can be eaten on their own, however they taste much better with sauce! You can use any syrup that you like, but my favorite is my coconut brown sugar sauce from my Coconut Heart Dumplings recipe.
• These are best served immediately.

Video

Keyword easy dango recipe, easy mochi recipe, homemade lucky charms, how to make mochi, japanese dumpling recipe, lucky charm dessert, lucky charm mochi

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