These chewy Purple Sweet Potato Pan-Fried Mochi (紫薯餅) are a type of sticky rice cake made with mashed purple yam and coated with panko breadcrumbs. With a crispy golden exterior and soft, chewy interior, these lightly sweet fried mochi are perfect for snack or dessert!

A stack of purple sweet potato rice cakes.

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What Exactly Are Pan-Fried Mochi?

So mochi, as you know, are those delightful little chewy, bouncy, sticky rice balls. And pan-fried mochi is when you take the raw mochi dough and fry it in a shallow pan of oil so it’s golden and crispy on the outside while staying soft and chewy on the inside.

The style of mochi is more popular in China (eg. 年糕, 糯米饼) and Korea (eg. 화전, 부꾸미) and not so much in Japan (the closest thing would be yakimochi). So I guess it would be more accurate to call it a rice cake rather than a mochi. But here in Canada, I find that most people are more familiar with the term “mochi” than “rice cake”.

In China in particular, it’s also common to mix other ingredients into the dough like pumpkin or sweet potato. (Check out my recipe for pumpkin rice cakes or nangua bing here.) This changes the texture of the mochi to become a little softer. Sometimes they’re even stuffed with a sweet filling like red bean paste or black sesame paste.

Ok, I’m drooling now 🤤 let’s get on with the recipe.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for pan-fried sweet potato mochi.

Here are the five ingredients you’ll need for Purple Sweet Potato Fried Mochi:

Purple Sweet Potato: The exact amount of purple sweet potato you need depends on how dry your sweet potato is, which depends on how you cook it.

Tip: To cook your purple sweet potato, roast in the oven or air fryer instead of boiling or steaming. This ensures the sweet potato stays fairly dry instead of taking on too much moisture, meaning you can use more of it without causing the mochi dough to be too wet.

You want a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio (by weight) of sweet potato to rice flour, for the best texture and flavour.

Note: Of course, you can use regular yams or sweet potatoes instead of purple ones. They will turn out just as tasty. But you have to admit that purple rice cakes look more fun to eat!

Sugar: Use white granulated sugar to add a light sweetness to the mochi. If you have a big sweet tooth, feel free to add a bit more than what the recipe calls for.

Sticky Rice Flour: Also known as sweet rice flour, glutinous rice flour, or mochiko. This stuff gives mochi its signature chewy texture. But be careful not to add too much or your mochi will be too firm, and will taste more like rice than sweet potato.

Panko: Panko is a type of Japanese breadcrumb that you can find at most grocery stores (in the international aisle) or online. It’s important to coat the mochi in breadcrumbs before frying or else it will stick to the pan, even if you use lots of oil. Plus it will add an amazing crunchy texture to the outside of your mochi.

Oil: Use a neutral cooking oil for pan-frying the mochi. Peanut oil is also a great option (gives a lovely nutty hint to these rice cakes).

For a full list of ingredients and quantities, refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Substitution Tips

Like I said earlier, feel free to use orange sweet potatoes if you don’t have purple ones.

Also check out my Pumpkin Rice Cakes recipe, which is similar to this one except it uses kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin) instead of sweet potato.

Step-by-Step Process

Mashing purple yam, rice flour, and sugar together to make mochi dough.

Step 1: Combine sweet potato, sugar, and rice flour in a mixing bowl.

Step 2: Knead with your hands until it reaches a smooth, even, playdough-like consistency.

Tip: If your mochi is too dry, add more sweet potato until it is soft enough to form into balls without cracking or crumbling.

Purple sweet potato mochi dough is rolled into balls and coated in breadcrumbs.

Step 3: Roll the dough into small balls the size of ping pong balls.

Step 4: Roll the balls in panko or sesame, and press them into patties no thicker than 1/2 inch.

Note: If you make the sweet potato cakes too thick, they won’t cook through all the way.

Purple sweet potato rice cakes are shallow-fried in a cast iron pan.

Step 5: Pour oil into a skillet on medium heat. When the oil is hot enough, carefully plop the rice cakes into the oil. They should sizzle gently upon hitting the oil, but not be splattering everywhere.

Step 6: Fry the mochi for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until all the panko is golden brown. See below for comparison of what fully-cooked vs undercooked sweet potato rice cakes look like.

Comparison of a properly cooked purple yam mochi vs an undercooked one.

As you can see above, a well-cooked mochi should have a consistent and colour throughout the cross-section. If you see a white centre like the one on the left, it is undercooked and still raw in the middle.

Storing and Reheating Leftovers

Fridge: These sweet potato mochi rice cakes will last in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container. Note you MUST reheat pan-fried mochi after they’ve been chilled. You cannot eat them cold—the texture will be totally off.

Freezer: Freeze purple sweet potato mochi in an airtight container for up to three months.

Reheating: The best way to reheat sweet potato mochi is in a microwave because this prevents them from drying out. You can also chuck them in the air fryer for a minute at the end just to re-crisp the outside. Make sure though to reheat very, very thoroughly to regain the bouncy bite; otherwise, if it’s not reheated fully, the texture will be quite firm and brittle.

More Asian Recipes

Recipe Card

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