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Mochi

Chewy Japanese cake pounded from glutinous rice.

Mochi — illustrative ingredient image

About Mochi

Mochi is a Japanese chewy cake made by pounding glutinous rice into a cohesive dough. It is eaten as a sweet or savoury food and may be served plain, filled, grilled, or incorporated into desserts and other dishes. The identity here is the rice-based cake, not a generic chewy confection.

Its flavour is mild and rice-like, allowing fillings, coatings, seasonings, or accompanying ingredients to provide much of the character. The texture is notably elastic, dense, and sticky when fresh, though the exact chew depends on preparation and handling. No particular filling, seasoning, or preparation is specified.

Mochi is commonly formed into small rounded or flattened pieces and may be sold fresh, packaged, frozen, or dried. Heating can soften it and make the interior more pliable, while grilling or toasting can create a firmer or lightly browned exterior. Drying produces a harder form that changes substantially when rehydrated or cooked.

Ingredient type
compound ingredient

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Where mochi appears

0 linked foods

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Food connections are still being added.

No linked foods are available for this ingredient yet.

Name examples awaiting language review. Confirm the specific food or product.

Local names for mochi

Names and romanised forms to recognise on menus and labels.

English

Mochi

mochi

Available names only. Languages may be spoken in other countries; a name alone does not identify every ingredient in a dish.

Mochi nutrition & diet

Mochi nutritional value

Rice, glutinous rice products, rice cake — MEXT 01117

Per 100 g of the edible portion in the explicitly named reference form.

Calories
223kcal
Protein
4.0g
Carbs
50.8g
Fat
0.6g

Per 100 g edible portion. Values use MEXT 2023 with March 2026 corrections; the English food name is matched by food code from the official English edition. Carbohydrate is total carbohydrate by difference. Values in parentheses in the source are estimates reported by MEXT. This reference does not cover other preparations or brands.

Portions & preparation

Establish whether mochi means plain pounded glutinous-rice cake or a filled, flavored, fried, or packaged confection. The edible wrapper and filling should be considered separately when present. Freshness, moisture, preparation, and serving size affect the form represented by a reference.

Compare the right form: Match plain or filled mochi made from glutinous rice, including filling, flavoring, cooking state, and edible portion; product labels matter.

Diet considerations

Plain mochi is cereal-derived from glutinous rice; “glutinous” describes texture and does not identify a wheat ingredient. Compatibility changes with wheat-containing fillings, dairy, egg, gelatin, coatings, or shared recipe components. Sweetened, filled, fried, and savory versions should not be treated as plain rice cake.

AI-authored reading notes · Awaiting editorial review. Measured values, where available, have a separate source above.

Dietary compatibility

  • Vegan
    Not established
  • Vegetarian
    Not established
  • Pescatarian
    Not established
  • Keto
    Not established
  • Paleo
    Not established
  • Low-carb
    Not established
  • Halal
    Not established
  • Kosher
    Not established
What these diet assessments mean
Vegan · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Vegetarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Pescatarian · Not established
The available profile does not establish the full composition or processing for this dietary pattern.
Keto · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Paleo · Not established
The ingredient form and processing have not been assessed against this dietary pattern.
Low-carb · Not established
A defined serving and sourced carbohydrate data are needed before assessing this dietary pattern.
Halal · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish halal status.
Kosher · Not established
Sourcing, processing and any applicable certification have not been verified. A food name alone does not establish kosher status.

For the plain ingredient · Awaiting review. Diet compatibility is not allergy suitability or halal/kosher certification. Keto and low-carb depend on the portion.

Reviewed ingredient entryIngredient reference · Preparations vary

AI-generated illustration for visual context. It does not identify a particular product or establish allergen content.

Sources & review

Nutrition reference: MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan, 2023 supplement, corrected March 2026 ↗. Values are scaled from 100 g of the recorded edible form. Individual portions have no assumed fixed weight.

Expanded overview, name examples and nutrition notes are database drafts awaiting editorial review. Numeric nutrition values, where shown, have their own source and food-form reference.

The ingredient description and dish connections come from the draft catalogue and may change after review.

Last recorded verification: .