Mochi Pancakes

An amazingly light and fluffy delight, this mochi pancakes recipe will light up any morning.

Just ask anyone, I think about pancakes all the time! I have them at least once a week, mostly on the weekends. They bring about a certain kind of nostalgia, and are so easy to put together. Different countries have different versions of pancakes (e.g. in the UK, pancakes here are basically like crepes) and I really don’t discriminate, but my favourite is the thick and fluffy American-style ones, followed closely behind by the Japanese soufflé pancakes. They’re just so incredibly delicious, and go with literally anything – peanut butter, ice cream, chocolate chips, bananas, caramelised bananas, bacon, caramelised bacon – you get my drift. You can even make them savoury by adding herbs and/or cheese! The possibilities are ENDLESS.

The Mochi Magic

This mochi pancakes recipe is a slight variation on the classic one. I wish I could take full credit for this, but this stroke of genius was heavily inspired by one of my well-loved cookbooks, A Common Table. If you don’t know what mochi is, it’s a type of glutinous rice cake from Japan that are chewy and sticky, and traditionally wrapped around red bean paste. Contrary to what pure mochi is like, the addition of the glutinous rice flour to the batter actually makes the pancakes just the slightest bit softer and more tender – just amazing!

Print Recipe

Mochi Pancakes

(22 votes, average: 4.55 out of 5)
Loading...

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10 – Cooking Time: 20 – Total Time: 30

An amazingly light and fluffy delight, this mochi pancakes recipe will light up any morning.

Ingredients

65g plain flour

70g glutinous rice flour (or sweet rice flour)

1.5 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg, separated

130g yoghurt (Note 1)

125ml milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled (plus more for serving)

Berries (optional)

Maple syrup

Instructions

1

In a bowl, mix the flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.

2

To the dry mixture, add in the egg yolk, yogurt, milk and melted butter, and whisk until just incorporated i.e. until the flour streaks have disappeared - lumps are ok! In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites until you get soft peaks, then gently fold it into the mixture (Note 2).

3

Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes while you heat up a large pan over medium-heat and lightly grease it with butter. Once hot, drop about 4 tablespoons of batter onto the pan. When bubbles start to pop and form holes that stay open on the surface of the pancake (takes about 2-3 minutes), flip and cook on the other side until golden. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining batter. If desired, warm up a porcelain plate in the microwave for a minute and then pop the pancakes in while you work on the rest.

4

Serve immediately with butter, maple syrup, and berries (if using).

Notes

1. I used Greek yoghurt but feel free to use flavoured yogurt to jazz up these pancakes (one of my faves is blueberry yoghurt)
2. Be careful not to over-mix the batter as the gluten will develop from the flour in your batter, making your pancakes chewy rather than fluffy