This Japanese Dessert Is Alton Brown's Go-To Midnight Snack

Over an illustrious career, Alton Brown has earned his place in America's cooking hall of fame, and we're inclined to go all-in on any food that gets his seal of approval. This includes a tasty late-night snack he admitted to having a weakness for when answering questions from fans during a Reddit AMA in 2019. Brown's  choice was the sweet treat mochi ice cream — which is different to mochi and ice cream on their own.

This Japanese treat is an East-meets-West fusion food combining traditional Japanese mochi as a chewy outer wrapper with an ice cream center for a refreshing little bite that isn't too sweet. These little frozen dollops are typically the size of a golf ball – they can fit in your palm comfortably, and be eaten in a couple of bites. They also come in endless flavors, but mango and strawberry often lead the rankings with a creamy fruitiness that you might just find irresistible. We don't at all blame Alton Brown for going to town on a box in the late-night hours.

When it comes to mochi ice cream, you have a wide market to choose from. We've ranked My/Mochi ice cream flavors and found the best Trader Joe's frozen mochi before, too, so you have a couple places to start when you go perusing through your local store for a sweet, chewy, frozen snack of your own. My/Mochi's best flavor, according to our taster, is the refreshing mint chocolate chip, while Trader Joe's green tea flavor blew us out of the water. They both offer a deliciously creamy center and soft, chewy mochi that has the exact right amount of give, even when frozen. The rest lies in your personal flavor preferences. If you don't like green tea or peppermint, then you'll want to nab a box of strawberry, mango, chocolate, vanilla, or one of the other countless flavors that brands put out.

As for what you should look for in a good mochi ice cream, that depends on your preference. Netizens often bring up points like the intensity of the flavor in both the mochi and ice cream, and texture is always a main topic. It's generally agreed that you'll get the most out of your mochi ice cream if you leave it to thaw on the counter for a few minutes before eating it. That gets the mochi back to a soft and chewy state, which is the real star of the show with this snack. If Alton Brown himself can't get enough of it, you'll probably be adding it to your midnight munchies list soon enough, too.