Mochi donuts, also known as poi mochi, are a fusion pastry crossing traditional American

doughnuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

and Japanese

mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of , a short-grain japonica glutinous rice, and sometimes other ingredients such as water, sugar, and cornstarch. The rice is pounded into paste and molded into the desired shape. In Japan, it is traditionally ...

. The mochi donuts' "hybrid batter makes for a doughnut that is fluffy and moist, with a satisfying chew". An early iteration can be traced to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

in the early 1990s, however, the mochi donut was popularized by Mister Donut's "Pon de Ring" iteration in the early 2000s. Mochi donuts are now most commonly shaped into eight small balls connected into a circular shape that is easy to pull apart and are made out of glutinous rice flour or

tapioca flour Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the storage roots of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North and Northeast regions of Brazil, but whose use is now spread throughout South America. ...

History and origins

Pon de wreath strawberry flavor of Mister Donut in Japan

One of the earliest iterations of mochi donuts can be traced to the development of "poi mochi" by Charmaine Ocasek in

in 1992. This iteration is a fusion of American

donuts A doughnut or donut () is a type of food made from leavened fried dough. It is popular in many countries and is prepared in various forms as a sweet snack that can be homemade or purchased in bakeries, supermarkets, food stalls, and franc ...

and Japanese

and "consisted of deep-fried balls of mashed

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afric ...

and mochiko, a Japanese short-grain sweet rice flour". In 2003, the Japanese donut chain Mister Donut launched the , named after the Brazilian

pão de queijo Pão de queijo (, "cheese bread" in Portuguese) or Brazilian cheese bread is a small, baked cheese roll or cheese bun, a popular snack and breakfast food in Brazil. It is a traditional Brazilian recipe, originating in the state of Minas Gerais ...

bread. This iteration of the hybrid confection was popularized in Japan before spreading to the United States via Hawaii. Hawaii "tends to catch on to Japanese food trends before the rest of the

nited States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

thanks to its larger population of Japanese-Americans and closer proximity to Japan". The "pon de ring" style is shaped into a ring of eight connected small balls. On calling the "pon de ring" style a mochi donut, ''

Epicurious ''Epicurious'' is an American digital brand that focuses on food and cooking-related topics. Created by Condé Nast in 1995, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, where it is part of the publisher's F ...

'' stated: "oddly enough, neither pon de ring or pão de queijo are made with glutinous rice flour. Both typically use tapioca flour, and while pão de queijo is gluten-free, most recipes for pon de ring also include wheat flour. ..Some folks suggest the name has less to do with the glutinous rice flour that we often associate with foods called mochi and more to do with the phrase mochi-mochi, which describes a uniquely soft but elastic or even bouncy texture".

Modern preparation

The Mister Donut style uses

and produces mochi donuts that are easy to pull apart. Another variation developed in the United States uses glutinous rice flour which produces a denser mochi donut akin to Hawaiian-style butter mochi. Mochi donuts made from glutinous rice flour "typically contain half the amount of calories as the standard cake or yeast doughnut".

Equipment

Although mochi donuts can be made by hand, for more efficiency most bakeries opt for machines that mold the dough into the traditional ring shape with a plunger and drops it directly into the oil.

Variations

Mochi donuts can be found in various flavors and colors. Similar to "regular donuts, mochi donuts typically feature classic, buttery vanilla dough". Glazes which feature "Japanese flavors like

matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia. The green tea plants used for matcha are shade-grown for three to four weeks before harvest; the stems and veins are removed durin ...

, pandan, and

ube UBE or Ube may refer to: * Ubiquitin-activating enzyme * Ube, Yamaguchi, a city in Japan * Uniform Bar Examination * Unilateral Biportal Endoscopy * Ube Industries, chemical company * Union bound estimate, a probability theory bound * Union of ...

are common". Mochi donuts are often found garnished with different toppings such as chocolate chips, sesame seeds, grilled coconut chips, fresh or candied fruit, sprinkled with matcha powder, or cinnamon sugar. Mister Donut offers seasonal themed variations along with various glazes, such as strawberry; they also offer a version made from chocolate dough and version that is cream filled. PictureWikipediaMochidonut4.jpg, Plain mochi donuts File:Pon de ring with brown sugar by Kanko.jpg, Mochi donut with brown sugar File:Mochi-Donuts-TM.jpg, Glazed mochi donuts PictureWikipediaMochidonut3.jpg, Decorated mochi donuts File:Mochi Donut.jpg, Decorated mochi donuts made in

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

File:Mister Donut Pão de éclair and CALPIS.jpg, Mister Donut's "Pon de Eclair" variation with

Calpis Calpis ((カルピス, Karupisu))/Milkis ((밀키스, Milkiseu)) is a Japanese uncarbonated soft drink, manufactured by , a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. The beverage has a light, somewhat milky, and slightly ...

soft drink File:Purple wolf ring of Mister Donut in Japan.jpg, Mister Donut seasonal "purple wolf ring"

Social media popularity

Originally prevailing in Asia, mochi donuts rapidly gained popularity across the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in recent years, encouraged by social media. The mochi donuts’ bright colors and playful shape, which is reminiscent of a flower or a bracelet, make them particularly photogenic and prone to trend on photo and video-sharing social platforms such as

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

and Tik Tok.

References