Coconut Peanut Mochi (lo mai chi)

Coconut peanut mochi on plate with one mochi bitten open revealing granulated peanut filling.

Soft and bouncy coconut peanut mochi made from only 5 key ingredients! These mochi contain a sweet crumbly peanut filling and are coated in dried coconut.

Course Dessert

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 12

Total Time 57

Servings mochi

Calories 206

Author Anthea

Ingredients

Mochi dough

1 ¼ cup (150g) sweet glutinous rice flour or mochiko sweet rice flour
1 cup (240g) coconut milk canned, not the beverage variety
¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
cornstarch / corn flour potato starch or neutral-flavored oil, for assembling as needed

Peanut Filling

½ cup (75g) roasted peanuts salted or unsalted (note 1 for adding sesame seeds and coconut)
2 tablespoons 25g granulated sugar
1 tablespoon peanut butter optional (note 2)
¼ teapsoon salt if using unsalted peanuts

To decorate

¼ cup (25g) fine shredded coconut / desiccated coconut

Instructions

Prepare the mochi dough (see note 3 if you want to steam or microwave your dough):

Add the glutinous rice flour, coconut milk and sugar to a large non-stick saucepan. Mix until combined and there are no lumps.
Over medium heat, stir your mochi mixture for 6-8 minutes. The mixture will turn lumpy and eventually form a soft ball that will come away from the saucepan. Once your mochi is a soft ball, reduce the reduce the heat to low and mix the dough ball for 2-5 minutes until it is smooth and stretchy.
Remove the dough from the saucepan and let it cool.

Prepare the peanut filling:

Add the peanuts to a food processor or blender. Pulse until the peanuts turn into coarse to fine crumbs.
Add the peanuts, sugar and peanut butter to a bowl. Mix until combined. You may need to use your fingertips to mix the peanut butter into the mixture.

Assemble the lo mai chi:

Generously coat your work surface, hands and any utensils with a neutral oil OR cornstarch. Divide the mochi dough into 9 equal portions (or more portions for smaller mochi).
Use a rolling pin or your hands to flatten each mochi ball into flat round circles around 1/4 inch (6mm) thick. If the mochi dough sticks to anything, add more oil or cornstarch.
Place around 1 tablespoon of the peanut mixture in the center of the dough circle. Gently wrap the dough around the filling pinching the seams to seal. If there's any excess mochi dough, cut it off with a pair of scissors.
Place the coconut in a large shallow bowl. Gently toss the mochi in the coconut. If you dusted your mochi with cornstarch, you may need to brush the surface with oil before tossing it in coconut.
Enjoy the coconut peanut mochi immediately. If your mochi are very soft, chill them in the fridge for a couple of hours until they've firmed up.

Serving and storing the mochi:

Lo Mai Chi is best eaten the day you make them. On the day of making, store them in a container at room temperature. If you need to keep them overnight, store them in a container or individually wrapped in the fridge or freezer. Keep in mind that their texture usually changes overnight (see 'Additional Tips' in the post above).

Notes

Alternatively, use 1/3 cup (50g) peanuts, 2 tablespoons (10g) coconut and 1 tablespoon (10g) sesame seeds in the filling.
Peanut butter adds moisture to the filling. Alternatively, you can omit it or use coconut or maple syrup.
To microwave the dough, whisk all ingredients in a bowl and cover it with a plate. Microwave the mixture for 2 minutes then stir the mixture. Microwave the dough for 1 minute then mix again. Repeat 2-4 times until your dough comes away from the side of a bowl. For a visual guide, see my strawberry mochi recipe. Alternatively, you can steam your mixture. Boil a pot of water and place the mochi dough in a greased steaming tray (or flat bowl). Steam the mixture for 15-20 minutes, stirring 1-2 times with an oiled spatula.

Nutrition