Crispy delicious outside and fluffy inside, Potato Mochi is the ideal side dish or snack for any occasion. Transform leftover mashed potato into golden brown fried potato mochi cakes in no time at all! Served with three dipping sauces, you’ll understand why the Pokémon gamers love them so much!
Potato Mochi
My 6-year old neighbour told me that he's enjoyed potato mochi, since he saw it on Pokémon.
What..? Pokémon and potato mochi?
Pokémon Legends Arceus is a globally distributed computer game from Nintendo. In the game, you join the Galaxy Team as a member of the Survey Corps, and meet every species of Pokémon in the Hisui region. So what’s the link?
Well, the Hisui region in the game is modeled on the northern prefecture of Japan, Hokkaido. Potato mochi (imo mochi or imo dango) is their famous local cuisine.
The game characters enjoy this mochi together. It’s pretty much the staple food in the game. But I’m no Pokemon expert, you’d have to ask my 6 year old neighbour to learn more!
So, today you can learn how to make potato mochi just like Pokemon legends Arceus. This potato mochi recipe is authentic and traditional. And friends, it's delicious and super easy to make.
I love potato mochi and have done since I was a kid. And the great thing is that it’s fun to make, and it’s ideal for involving kids, adults or both in making it!
Bring joy into your life and share it with your loved ones. Read on!
What is potato mochi?
It's Japan's most famous mochi recipe that doesn't use mochi flower or powder. It started as a local cuisine in Hokkaido and other regions. It's a little bit similar to Italian gnocchi. German knödel dumpling is also a bit like this Japanese potato cakes recipe.
What is potato mochi made of?
It’s made of mashed potato, seasoned with salt. Instead of flour being used like in gnocchi, you use potato starch for mochi. Once mixed, it’s then fried on the stovetop.
Traditionally, mochi is shaped into round servings. The round shape of the mochi represents harmony (enman), and it’s meant to bring it into our lives. So I follow the customary shape. But you can make it any shape you like.
Mochi dipping sauce
These fried potato mochi cakes (yaki mochi) are already delicious. Traditionally, we enjoy them with sweetened shoyu (soy sauce) based dipping sauce.
For this potato mochi recipe, I’ll show you three different types of dipping sauce recipes. You can make them all or just one. My favourite is miso flavour. Let me know how yours go in the comment section below.
Variations
These potato mochi cakes are versatile. You can try:
- cheese melted inside (imo mochi cheese)
- soy sauce flavoured sweet sauce with nori seaweed (isobe yaki)
- imo mochi made with Japanese sweet potatoes
I've made three dipping sauce variations:
- miso flavoured sweet sauce
- mitarashi sauce (soy sauce flavoured)
- butter and soy sauce
I think they are delicious, and work perfectly!
Potato mochi ingredients
Best potato for this mochi
In Japan, we use Hokkaido danshaku imo (potato). It's a high starch potato and as a result is quite 'floury'. They’re the best for mashed potatoes and making Japanese potato salad.
You can replace this Hokkaido potato with Russet Burbank in North American. In Australia, Kipfler and Pontiac are good, and King Edward or Maris Piper can work in the UK.
Really, the only thing you need is mashed potatoes, potato starch, mayo and salt for this mochi mix.
Dipping sauce ingredients
We are making three different mochi dipping sauces. You need Japanese soy sauce, mirin, miso and sake as well as butter.
These ingredients work for many Japanese and non-Japanese dishes - stir fry vegetables, soups, salad, teriyaki, ramen, gyoza, sushi and more. They’re super useful to have in your pantry!
How to Make Delicious Potato Mochi
We describe the delicious chewiness as 'mochi mochi' in Japanese. The texture we’re after is crispy golden brown outside, and moist and chewy inside.
I tried many variations, but I can’t go past my mother's method! It results in the mochi cakes being extra smooth. To achieve this, you have to combine the mix throughly, but don't over-mix it. Also a key to making it delicious is to add mayo.
Making the mochi mix
All you do is to prepare mashed potatoes, and combine them with salt, pepper, mayo and corn starch.
If you use leftover mashed potatoes, and they’ve lost all moisture, add one tablespoon of milk to help make it smooth.
If you cook with kids, transfer all the ingredients into a ziploc bag, and combine them with your hands. This approach doesn’t require a potato masher. Make sure potatoes are not too hot. This is the time to bring the kids into it, as they won’t be able to make a mess with it in the bag!
Cooking
I recommend using vegetable oil. Olive oil is not recommended as it tends to absorb into the cakes. Vegetable oil helps you make the perfect crispy golden brown potato cakes. I use a skillet. A non-stick frying pan is also good.
How to enjoy potato mochi
Enjoy these mochi cakes on their own as a snack or as a side. I've prepared three sauces. They’re all great and go well with the mochi. Scoop up the sauce with a teaspoon, or dip them in the sauce. Then wrap it with a nori seaweed.
For the sauce making, combine the ingredients in the frying pan and cook them with low heat. When the sauce thickens, remove them from the heat. It takes less than a few minutes.
That's it! Serve immediately. Enjoy!
MIKLIA side dishes
Japanese Potato Salad
Roasted Kabocha Squash
Kabocha Squash Soup
Potato Mochi
Ingredients
Potato mochi mix
- 14 oz potatoes (400g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper (a pinch)
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise (or homemade Japanese mayo)
- 4 tablespoons potato starch (40g)
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (for cooking: note 1)
- 6 nori seaweed (dried small sheets)
Miso dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 tablespoon miso
Soy sauce dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Butter dipping sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Potato mochi mix
- Peel the potatoes and cut them into once inch cubes. Place them in a medium sized pot of boiling water, and cook until softened. It takes about ten to twelve minutes.
- Drain water in a sieve. Transfer the cooked potatoes into a bowl, and combine them with salt, pepper, mayo and potato starch and mash them until smooth. (If you are cooking with kids, cool down the cooked potatoes a little bit, transfer them into a ziploc bag, and add salt, pepper, mayo and potato starch. Combine all the ingredients with hands.)
- Divide the mix into six. Roll it out with palms, and flatten with fingers. The mix can yield about 6 potato mochi cakes.
- Heat up the frying pan, and add vegetable oil. Place the potato mochi cakes on the pan, and cook each side over medium heat until golden brown and crispy. It takes four minutes to cook each side. Place them on a serving plate.
Miso flavoured dipping sauce
- Add heat to the frying pan, and add all the ingredients. Combine them until consistent. Turn off the heat, and add the sauce into a small plate.
Soy sauce flavoured dipping sauce
- Add heat to the frying pan, and place all the ingredients. Combine them with a spatula until consistent and thickened. Turn off the heat, and transfer the sauce to a small plate.
Butter flavoured dipping sauce
- Combine all the ingredients except for butter.
- Add heat to the frying pan, place butter and let it melt. Pour the mix, and combine all the ingredients. Once the sauce become thickened, turn off the heat, and place it into a small plate.
- That's it! Serve immediately. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
- Vegetable oil is preferred to make the potato mochi cakes extra crispy.
- Enjoy the potato mochi by dipping in the sauce or pouring the sauce on it. Enjoy them on their own or wrap with seaweed.
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