Mochi is one of my favorite desserts ever.  The combination of ice cream with mochi is even better! The first type of mochi ice cream I sampled did not have a chewy shell.  I found this to be very disappointing.  How can it be called mochi if the outside shell is soft and not chewy?  Since then, I have found several brands that have the chewy mochi outside.  Most of them are Japanese brands.  You can find them in Asian grocery stores, Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

Mochi ice creams come in a variety of flavors including green tea, red bean (azuki), vanilla, mango, strawberry, and chocolate.  I like green tea the best, though I also enjoy the red bean and vanilla.

Pictured here is a mango ice cream mochi and a green tea ice cream mochi. The outside is dusted with a type of flour so that the mochi skin won’t stick to your fingers as it is very sticky.  The outside is soft and chewy and a little bit sweet.  The inside is filled with ice cream.  Each of these are about 2-3 bites. They need to be eaten quickly as they melt very fast.

Out of all the brands I’ve tried, my favorite is this one:

These ice cream mochis are slightly bigger than some of the other brands, and have a good consistency of chewiness in the mochi skin.

Update! I learned how to make my own homemade mochi so be sure to check out my Mochi Ice Cream recipe!