I lived in Daegu, South Korea from 2013-2014. While there, I tried many foods. I fell in love with a few and stayed away from many. (Due to the fact that I was anemic, and also didn’t want to end up in the hospital in a foreign country.)

One of the foods I fell in love with in Korea were the mochi donuts, available only at Dunkin Donuts. Whenever friends and I stopped by DD for some donuts, I had to grab at least 2 of these non-western donuts.

Mochi donuts, or chapssal donuts (찹쌀도너츠), are a modern take on the traditional Korean rice cakes. They are made from sweet rice flour and filled with a sweet red bean paste. Although I like my mochi donuts without any filling–and especially from Dunkin Donuts–chapssal donuts can be found at any market stall in South Korea.

Today, I am back in the U.S., where the Korean mochi donuts are nowhere in sight. Therefore, I have decided to make my own, tweaking Seonkyoung Longest’s recipe for mochi donuts.

Recipe

For Dough:

1. 1 c. sweet rice flour
2. 2 Tbs. all purpose flour
3. 1 Tbs. cocoa powder
4. ¼ c. sugar
5. ½ tsp. Salt
6. 1 tsp. Baking powder
7. 1 Tbs. melted butter
8. ½ c. + 2 Tbs hot water

For Glaze:

1. 2 Tbs. butter
2. 1 c. powdered sugar
3. ½ tsp. vanilla extract
4. 2 Tbs. cocoa (optional)

Other Material:

1. Frying oil
2. Wax paper
3. Sprinkles (optional)

To make the dough, combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add the melted butter and hot water. Use a spatula at this point to form the dough. Once everything has combined and cooled, go in with your hands to knead the dough for 5 minutes.

Next, allow the dough to rest for 15-30 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel.

Afterwards, roll the dough into a long log and pinch off some dough (roughly 1.5 cm in diameter) and shape them into balls. On wax paper, form about 9 dough balls into a ring. Then heat up some frying oil and place the donut ring and the wax paper, into the oil. Fry for 2-3 in total–making sure to turn the donuts over and remove the wax paper from the oil.

Pour on your glaze of choice, and sprinkles, and enjoy!