The Difference Between Mochi And Mochi Ice Cream

They say good things come in small packages, and such is the case with mochi. There's nothing else like it — the soft, chewy texture of the rounded doughy mochi, sometimes filled with the creamiest of ice creams or a bold green tea paste.

To understand the difference between mochi and mochi ice cream, first you need to know what mochi is. A kind of Japanese rice cake, mochi has been made for centuries and was a favorite meal of the samurai because it was filling and was portable, cites My Mochi. Seen as a symbol of good fortune, mochi is often enjoyed as a New Year's treat in Japan made on New Year's Day as a treat and placed in festive displays (via The Culture Trip). 

For much of its history, mochi was made by pounding rice flour in a mortar with large wooden mallets, according to Taste of Home.  Nowadays, there are machines that can make the dough and it can even be made in the microwave. The dough is still made with rice flour that is combined with corn flour, sugar, oil and water, according to a recipe on Asian Food Network. Once the dough is created, it's placed around a filling and enjoyed as a snack or for dessert.

There is really just one difference between mochi and ice cream mochi — the filling. By definition, mochi is the rice flour dough and it can be wrapped around a variety of fillings. What Americans most often consider mochi is called daifuku, which is a kind of Japanese confection that consists of mochi stuffed with filling, per Japan Centric.

When it comes to ice cream mochi, the flavors that are most often found at the local sushi restaurant or Japanese grocery store are matcha green tea, mango, strawberry, and chocolate. But when you make your own ice cream mochi at home, you can pick whatever ice cream is your favorite. In Japan and around the world, mochi is enjoyed with many other kinds of traditional fillings, including red bean, lychee and peanut. As mochi grows in international popularity, cooks are having fun playing around with the versatile dough making it in Thai tea, plum wine, black sesame ,and durian flavors, according to My Mochi. 

Lucky for us, we're able to enjoy these little Japanese treats any day of the year and with a rainbow of flavors.