Local-Style Mochi Waffles
もちワッフル·(mochi waffuru)
Hanabatta Days: Small Kid Time Comforts
A cardboard box of Mochiko sits on the counter. A waffle iron warms up. A weekend morning begins. The smell of butter mochi usually means coconut, vanilla, and caramelized butter baking in an aluminum pan for a family potluck. This recipe submits traditional butter mochi—a batter of Mochiko and coconut milk—to a battered waffle iron. Pour a quarter-cup of batter onto the grid, and the hot metal hisses. The hot iron maximizes the surface area, ensuring every single bite is the crispy edge piece, giving way to a chewy center. Pull them from the iron while the crust shatters, and eat them before the syrup soaks through.
Before you start
Prepare the waffle iron.
Even non-stick irons need a little help with mochi, as the high sugar content loves to stick. Lightly spray the grates with non-stick cooking spray or brush them with melted butter while preheating.
Ingredients
- sweet rice flour2 cup
- granulated sugar1/2 cup
- baking powder1 1/2 tsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- canned full fat coconut milk3/4 cup
- whole milk3/4 cup
- eggs2 large
- unsalted butter4 tbsp
- pure vanilla extract1 tsp
Method
- 01
Whisk the sweet rice flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
Seek out the Koda Farms Blue Star box if you can. Under no circumstances should you substitute regular white rice flour, which will yield an inedible, crumbly rock.
- 02
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, coconut milk, whole milk, melted butter, and vanilla until completely smooth.
- 03
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk vigorously until the batter resembles a thick, glossy heavy cream.
Because mochiko contains zero gluten, it is scientifically impossible to overmix this batter and make it tough, so do not hold back.
- 04
Pour the batter into a preheated, greased waffle iron and cook for four to five minutes.
You are looking for a deep, golden-brown crust. The deep caramelization is where the flavor lives, so do not pull them early.
- 05
Carefully lift the waffle from the iron and rest it on a wire cooling rack for exactly two minutes.
This is the crucial secret. The waffle will feel completely floppy at first, but as the steam escapes, the exterior sugars harden into a shatteringly crisp shell while the interior locks into its signature mochi chew. Do not place it directly on a plate.
Notes
Batter can be prepared in advance.
The batter can be mixed the night before and kept in the fridge; simply give it a good whisk in the morning before pouring. Leftover baked waffles freeze beautifully and revive perfectly in a standard toaster.
From Cook Hawaiian in America.