Keto Strawberry Cheesecake Korean Mochi (Chapssaltteok 찹쌀떡). Just 3.2g carbs and 85 calories each!!!
My sugar-free and low-calorie version of the Korean rice cake confection features a soft, sticky skin, and a cheesecake, red bean paste and fresh strawberries filling. I think it delivers in both taste and texture, but without the enormous amount of carbs in traditional Mochi. And it’s utterly delicious.
After hearing a lot of hype about Mochi during my recent trip to South Korea, I decided to try one. Well, two actually, so I could compare them. I bought them in separate bakeries/cafés, both freshly made, and they blew me away. I had never tasted anything even remotely like this before.
The next 48 hours weren’t fun, however, as my digestive system made it clear to me that I should keep well away from all that sugar and starch. Once back in the UK, I had a new culinary mission: create a Keto Mochi!
What is Mochi?
Mochi is a Japanese confection that was likely exported to Korea during the Japanese invasion. The only difference between Korean and Japanese Mochi is that, from my understanding, Japanese Mochi (Daifukumochi 大福餅) is a small, dainty morsel, while Korean Mochi (Chapssal Tteok 찹쌀떡) is bigger. There may also be a slight difference in terms of preparation of the mochi skin, but they taste and look identical. Their main ingredients are glutinuous rice flour for the shell, and a sweet filling that commonly includes red bean paste.
Oddly, glutinous rice flour (shiratamako, mochito) is gluten-free. Its name is probably due to the stretchy consistency of the dough you create with it. None-the-less, the high carb content (82g + per 100g) make it impossible for use in keto or even low-carb recipes, so I had to figure out a substitution.
Make Keto Strawberry Cheesecake Korean Mochi
It took me a month of multiple trials to get my Keto Mochi skins to mimic to the real McCoy, but I’ve finally found a combination of ingredients that works. The result isn’t quite as stretchy and chewy, but just as soft and moist, plus it doesn’t need cooking.
Nothing could ever replace the unique texture of a Mochi skin made with shiratamako. But this comes close. And with ZERO CARBS.
Red Bean Paste (anko, danpat-so) traditionally uses Adzuki (Aduki, Azuki) beans. We all know that beans contain a lot of carbs. Some more than others. So I decided to make a sugar-free red bean paste using Borlotti beans instead of Adzuki. Less colourful (Borlotti turns brown after cooking), but fewer carbs, and I reckon a good substitution.
My aim was to create an authentic Mochi as much as possible. Even WITH the red bean paste addition it STILL has only 3.2g carbs.
If you decide to make Keto Mochi but you’d rather not use sweet red bean paste, that’s absolutely fine. Ultimately, Mochi fillings can be anything you like. The crucial element is the skin, so once you have that mastered, you can change what goes inside to suit your preferences. You can still follow the recipe below – just double the quantities for the cheesecake filling (or triple/quadruple if you also do away with the strawberries).
A sprinkle of tapioca starch, swiped all over the Mochi, completes the traditional look. Tapioca starch is even higher in carbs than shiratamako flour. However, you’re only using a sprinkle here – nothing to get worked up about. Still, if you’re ultra strict, don’t bother with it.
Let me know if you’ve tasted real fresh Mochi and what you think of my impostor 😉
Enjoy!
Keto Strawberry Cheesecake Korean Mochi
Ingredients
Fillings
- 80 g sweet red bean paste - recipe HERE
- 10 g coconut oil - virgin, solid type (U.S. option HERE)
- 30 g cream cheese (I use Arla lactose-free which is softer and very low-carb)
- 15 g unsalted butter
- 7 g icing sweetener (U.S. option HERE)
- few drops vanilla extract (U.S. option HERE)
- 80 g fresh strawberries - calyx and stem hulled, net weight
Mochi Skins
- 30 g oat fibre (U.S. option HERE)
- 5 g fine psyllium husk powder (U.S. option HERE)
- 15 g icing sweetener (U.S. option HERE)
- ⅛ tsp xanthan gum (U.S. option HERE)
- 90 g water
- few drops food colouring - PINK (U.S. option HERE)
- tapioca starch - (OPTIONAL) for dusting (U.S. option HERE)
Instructions
Prepare Fillings
- mix cream cheese with softened butter, vanilla, and icing sweetener until you obtain a smooth paste; refrigerate to solidify a little.30 g cream cheese, 15 g unsalted butter, few drops vanilla extract, 7 g icing sweetener
- if using previously frozen or chilled red bean paste, heat in the microwave in short bursts, then stir in coconut oil and mix until all oil has been thoroughly incorporated.80 g sweet red bean paste, 10 g coconut oil
- chop the strawberries and leave them on kitchen paper to drain any excess moisture.80 g fresh strawberries
Make Mochi Skins
- weigh dry ingredients and mix them in a medium bowl.30 g oat fibre, 5 g fine psyllium husk powder, 15 g icing sweetener, ⅛ tsp xanthan gum
- weigh water and stir in pink food colouring; check the colour saturation and adjust to your liking - bear in mind that you’ll lose depth of colour once mixed with the dry ingredients.few drops food colouring, 90 g water
- add the pink water to the dry ingredients and mix immediately using a fork.
- the mixture will look lumpy and crumbly within seconds - leave it for a few minutes while you cut and lay out 4 squares of non-stick baking paper (6”/15cm).
- wearing food-safe gloves, knead the dough for 1-2 minutes - it will become less sticky and more malleable as you knead it.
- divide the dough into 4 equal pieces - check using your scales.
- lay out a sheet of cling film, place one piece of dough in the centre, and cover with another sheet of cling film.
- using the palm of your hand, flatten to a disc shape, then use a rolling pin to spread out the disc thinly to about 5.5-6” (14-15cm) across.
- peel off the top cling film and lift the bottom cling film so as to carefully lift the Mochi skin; place it over one of the baking paper squares.
- repeat for the other skins, stacking them up with paper squares in between.
Assemble
- lift the first Mochi skin with the aid of the paper square underneath it, and flip it onto your other hand.
- use a teaspoon to spread 22-23g (1/4 of default recipe servings) of the red bean paste over the centre of the skin.
- spread 14-15g (1/4 of default recipe servings) of the cheesecake filling on top of the red bean paste, again leaving a gap around the edge.
- add 20g of the chopped strawberries to the centre, sinking them into the creamy filling.
- now cup your hand and carefully lift and pinch opposite edges with your other hand, so as to enclose the fillings; place the Mochi seam down on a tray or plate.N.B. don’t worry if you see some filling ooze out because your skin was a tad small or too thin in places: squish the Mochi to shape it into a ball, and do your best to seal it - the seam won’t be visible once you place it down on your serving plate.
- repeat the above steps to assemble the other Mochi.
- after placing them on a plate or tray, cover with cling film and keep refrigerated.
- when ready to serve, leave Mochi at room temperature for 10 minutes, then dust and swipe with tapioca starch (optional) before serving.tapioca starch
Notes
Nutrition
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I love mochi. Excited to make your recipe. I used to eat it plain, heated in the toaster oven to puff up & then dipped in tamari. Would your recipe work for this minus the filling? Thanks.
No Gerri, it wouldn’t. The skin structure resembles mochi texture, but it’s wetter, and nowhere near as stretchy and gluey, and wouldn’t stand up to toasting.
Thanks. Guess it would be blah without filling.
Nothing can replace the glutinous rice flour that you need for authentic Mochi, but this is as close as you can get, and it tastes delicious (if you love the soft and sticky Mochi texture), without all the sugar and starch.