These Mochi Donuts (Pon de Ring) are a crisp, light, delicious and chewy treat. Small balls of dough are linked together and fried to form a ringed donut.

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My first time having a pon de ring mochi donut was when I visited Modo Hawaii.

What is a pon de ring mochi donut?

Pon de ring is a term coined by Japanese donut chain, Mister Donut.

It refers to a mochi donut, loosely based on pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread).

The mochi donut dough is shaped into little balls (typically 8) and fried until golden in colour.

Some mochi donuts are made with glutinous rice flour, similar to mochi, while others are made with tapioca starch, similar to Korean Mochi Bread.

Both glutinous rice flour and tapioca starch/flour produce a chewy texture.

Similar to Classic Doughnuts, the mochi donuts are deep-fried in oil and glazed.

What is the difference between a mochi donut and regular donut?

Regular doughnuts are a yeasted dough made from all-purpose flour, that is shaped and fried in oil.

Mochi donuts are made typically made with glutinous rice flour or tapioca starch or a mochi mixture, shaped into balls, formed into a ring and fried in oil.

Many mochi donuts are raised with baking powder alone.

What do they taste like?

Mochi donuts have a crisp exterior with a chewy texture.

Some mochi donuts have a thick, dense, chewy texture similar to boba pearls or mochi.

This version is crisp on the outside, yet light and chewy on the inside.

Why this recipe works

This mochi donut recipe yields a small batch of 6 doughnuts, which is great since the texture of the donut is most optimal when freshly made.

Using a kitchen scale/weight measurements ensures more consistency in making these donuts.

There's no need to use a piping bag to pipe out the dough.

You can easily change up the glaze from matcha to another different flavor (try my suggestions below).

Using a combination of glutinous rice flour/mochiko flour and tapioca starch yields a chewy, dense, yet light mochi-like doughnut.

Ingredients you'll need

For the dough:

whole milk: warmed, or any non-dairy alternative
granulated sugar: adds sweetness
active dry yeast: or instant yeast (reduce the amount by ¼); adds lift to the donuts
all-purpose flour: regular plain flour; adds a little structure and crispness to the donuts
glutinous rice flour: also known as sweet rice flour; it is different than rice flour and is made from long-grain or short-grain rice, depending on which you use; it is the main ingredient in these mochi donuts which gives it its characteristically dense, chewy mochi texture
tapioca starch/tapioca flour: is a white flour from the cassava plant, used in making tapioca pearls (boba) and adds a lighter, chewy texture
large egg: beaten, binds the dough together
vegetable oil: any neutral oil will work here; you can also use melted butter
baking powder: acts as an additional leavener and gives the donuts its fluffy texture
sea salt: for flavor

Matcha glaze:

white chocolate: melted, choose a good quality chocolate
matcha: is a green tea powder; choose a high-quality matcha for the best taste, flavor and color

For frying:

peanut oil: or high smoke-point vegetable oil

How to make the mochi donuts

Make the mochi donuts

In a large bowl, combine warm milk, sugar and yeast. Give it a stir and let the yeast mixture become slightly foamy.

Into the bowl, add in all-purpose flour, glutinous rice flour, tapioca starch, beaten egg, vegetable oil, baking powder and sea salt.

Combine and mix well, until it forms a dough. Use your hands to continue to knead until the dough becomes smooth and shiny.

Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl.

Cover the bowl and place in a warm location until almost doubled in size.

Once the dough is a little puffy, deflate the dough and divide into 6 equal dough balls.

From each dough ball, divide the dough into a further 8 balls (about 9g per ball).

Shape each dough into a small round ball and place it onto a square piece of parchment paper, connecting so the little balls of dough form a ring.

Continue with the remainder.

Fry the mochi donuts

Heat a few inches of oil in small sauce pan over medium high heat.

Once the oil temperature reaches 365F on an instant-read thermometer, gently place one donut ring (including parchment paper) into the heated oil.

Fry for 1-2 minutes, and carefully remove the parchment paper.

Flip and continue to fry until golden brown in colour.

Remove the pon de ring donut with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel.

Repeat with the remainder.

Glaze the donuts

Once cool, place the mochi donuts onto a wire cooling rack.

Use a double-boiler or microwave to melt the white chocolate.

Sift in matcha powder and mix until the matcha chocolate is smooth.

Dip the mochi donuts into matcha chocolate glaze and add sprinkles, or make a simple glaze with a little milk and powdered sugar.

Other flavour ideas

Easily change up the flavor of the mochi donut.

You can use a white chocolate base and add a flavoring with it, or a powdered sugar glaze with flavoring.

Try these glaze ideas:

earl grey: milk with powdered sugar with earl grey tea powder
cherry blossom/sakura: white chocolate or powdered sugar with milk and sakura/cherry blossom powder
Vietnamese coffee: coffee with powdered sugar and espresso powder
black sesame: white chocolate with black sesame powder
cookies & creme: white chocolate with cookie crumbles
yuzu: yuzu chocolate, melted
vanilla: vanilla extract with powdered sugar and milk
chocolate/ganache: simply melted chocolate, or chocolate with heavy cream
strawberry: make a strawberry glaze with white chocolate and freeze-dried strawberry powder
passionfruit (lilikoi): passionfruit chocolate, melted
ube: ube extract with powdered sugar and milk

How to serve & store

Serve the Mochi Donuts freshly made, preferably on the same day.

If you do have leftovers, store the mochi donuts in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day.

You may need to slightly reheat the donut before enjoying (as the texture of the mochi will harden when cooled). [Note: if donut is glazed, it may melt/weep].

In this case, it's better to slightly reheat the donut first, and then glaze before consuming.

FAQs, expert tips & troubleshooting

The dough is too dry.

If the dough is too dry, add about 1 teaspoon of water at a time to help hydrate the dough, until it comes together.

It should be not too dry and not too moist.

Be careful not to add too much water as the dough may turn to a gloopy mess.

The dough is too wet.

Depending on the size of your egg, you may need to adjust the amount of all-purpose flour.

If the dough is too wet, try adding a little more all-purpose flour, until it reaches a slightly tacky dough.

Tip: Use a kitchen scale for accuracy.

How to ensure correct frying temperature?

Use an instant-read kitchen thermometer.

Frying at too low of a temperature will cause the doughnuts to not be as crisp.

Are mochi donuts vegan?

No, there is dairy and egg in the donuts.

Other mochi recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Matcha Mochi Croissants

Korean Matcha Mochi Bread

Matcha Brownie Mochi (Brochi)

Crispy Crunchy Mochi Bites (Fried Kirimochi)

Mango Cream Mochi

Other doughnut recipes you may like

Classic Glazed Doughnuts (Small-Batch)

Jasmine Sugar Raspberry Doughnuts

Earl Grey Cake Doughnuts

Lychee Rose Doughnuts

Strawberry Matcha Doughnuts

Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!

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5 from 4 votes