Mooncake Lava Mochi (Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolk Stuffed Mochi)

Ingredients for mochi 

• 2/3 cup (100g) sweet glutinous rice flour
  • I used the Mochiko brand rice flour. Any brand would work, but make sure you’re not just buying straight up rice flour.
• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (180g) water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Approximately 1 cup cornstarch (for dusting your surface)

Ingredients for salted egg yolk filling

• 1 cooked salted egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon melted white chocolate

Ingredients for lotus seed paste

• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons (33g) dried lotus seeds
  • Make sure that the peels and the cores are removed.
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoons (40g) canola oil
• 1 tablespoons (40g) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

This makes approximately a dozen mochi.

Instructions

1. First, let’s make the salted egg yolk filling. In a small bowl, mash the salted egg yolks into a paste and mix in heavy cream. Add it to the melted white chocolate and combine evenly. Spread the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper and leave to chill in the refrigerator until it solidifies or even overnight.
2. Now, in order to prep the lotus seeds, add the dried lotus seeds into a bowl with enough water to cover them. Leave them to soak the water for at at least 6 hours. I do all these steps the night before to have everything ready for the next day.
3. After those prep steps, next we’re going to make the lotus seed paste. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil and add the rehydrated lotus seeds. Boil for approximately 20-25 minutes until the lotus seeds are completely softened. Drain the water away.
4. Add the softened lotus seeds into a blender and add water. Blend until smooth.
5. In a pan, heat to medium heat and add the blended lotus seeds. Then, add the canola oil and make sure it’s well incorporated in the blended lotus seeds. Next, add the sugar, honey, and salt until it’s well combined.
6. While stirring frequently, cook the lotus seed paste for 30 minutes. The mixture should start to get sticky and more solid over time. Once it’s done, chill the lotus seed paste in the refrigerator. Once it’s cool, divide the lotus seed paste into 12 small balls and squish them all into a disk shape.
7. In the meantime, take out the salted egg yolk chocolate and cut it into 12 even pieces.
8. Now, let’s prepare the mochi! In a microwaveable bowl, add sweet glutinous rice flour, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and water. Microwave on high for 30 seconds. Use a spatula and stir the mixture around.
9. Microwave on high for another 30 seconds. Use the spatula again and stir the mixture until combined. There will probably be parts that look more translucent than others, so make sure all parts are combined.
10. Microwave on high for another 30 seconds, and again, use the spatula to stir the mixture again. Evaluate the mixture. The entire mixture should be entirely translucent and be super sticky and elastic, but firm (as in your spatula probably could not just simply cut through it). If this is not the case, microwave on high again for another 30 seconds (and repeat until translucent and you’ve achieved the texture described).
11. On a clean and dry surface, flour it with cornstarch heavily. Scoop the mochi onto the cornstarch and flatten. I just used my fingers to squish it down, but you can use a dusted rolling pin. Use a floured knife to cut it into 12 flat squares.
12. Now to assemble the mooncake mochi! Take one of the lotus seed paste disk and add the salted egg yolk chocolate on top. Roll that into a ball, covering the salted egg yolk chocolate with the lotus seed paste. Take one of the flattened mochi squares and place the filling ball in the middle. Wrap the mochi around the filling ball. Make sure there’s enough mochi to cover up everything in the middle, so there’s no leakage.
13. Dust with some more cornstarch and you’re done! If you serve it at room temperature, the middle will be creamy and more solid. If you serve it after microwaving it for ~7 seconds, the middle will be like lava and gooey.

Mooncake Lava Mochi (Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolk Stuffed Mochi) is my newest twist on a classic, the mooncake! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out my Mooncake Cookies. Mooncakes are often eaten during the Mid Autumn Festival as a delicacy. While they can be filled with all kinds of delicious fillings, my favorite is lotus seed paste with salted egg yolk in the middle. It’s said that the salted egg yolk represents the moon, which is celebrated during the festival. Based on this mooncake filling, my newest creation are these Mooncake Lava Mochi! This mochi is perfectly chewy and filled with my version of my favorite mooncake filling, but with a slight addition of chocolate. My favorite way to eat this is to put the finished mochi in the microwave to melt the salted egg yolk chocolate and make it gooey and lava-y. Let me know in the comments below if you made Mooncake Lava Mochi (Lotus Seed Paste and Salted Egg Yolk Stuffed Mochi) and how it went!