Pan-Fried Bacon-Wrapped Mochi

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.

If you’ve ever had senbei, those Japanese rice crackers with the sweet-savory soy coating, this bacon-wrapped mochi hits a familiar note, just chewier and way more indulgent 🤯 It’s pan-fried kirimochi wrapped in crispy bacon and tossed in a sticky soy glaze, and that mix of chewy, crispy, sweet and salty is SO good. Five ingredients, one pan, and if you’ve got a pack of kirimochi sitting in the pantry you’re about 20 minutes away from it!

Get Recipe Ingredients

View this reel on Instagram

What Makes This Bacon Wrapped Mochi So Good

It’s a texture thing more than anything else. The kirimochi pan-fries into a crispy shell with a chewy, almost taffy-like pull inside (that pull is the whole reason I keep kirimochi in the pantry), the bacon brings smoky salt and crunch, and then the soy glaze coats all of it in something sweet and sticky. You get that chewy-crispy contrast in every single bite, and it’s CRAZY good!

Plus, if that glaze sounds familiar, it’s the same sweet-savory soy move as my air fryer isobeyaki mochi, where crisped kirimochi gets brushed with a soy-sugar glaze and wrapped in nori. This one just swaps the seaweed for bacon, and yeah, it’s as good as that sounds.

What Is Mochi Made Of?

Mochi is glutinous rice, also called sweet rice, that’s been steamed and pounded into a sticky, stretchy dough. Kirimochi is that same mochi dried and cut into firm little blocks, so it keeps in the pantry and puffs back up when you heat it. It’s a completely different thing from the soft dessert mochi you know from mochi ice cream, since there’s no sugar and no filling, just chewy rice ready to crisp. Just One Cookbook breaks down the different kinds if you want to go deeper on it.

Do You Need to Cook the Bacon First?

Nope. You wrap raw bacon straight around the pan-fried mochi and cook it in the same pan until it crisps and cooks through. The pieces are small, so the bacon has plenty of time to render while everything holds together. I used thick-cut, though I might go thinner next time so it gets even crispier. Either one works.

Tips for Making Bacon Wrapped Mochi

1. Crisp the mochi before you wrap it

Pan-fry the kirimochi on its own first, flipping every couple of minutes until each side browns and the inside softens. That first fry is what gives you the chewy center, so don’t skip ahead to the wrapping part.

2. Let it cool before you handle it

Fresh out of the pan the mochi is molten in the middle and it will get you. Give it a few minutes until you can actually pick a piece up, then wrap the bacon around it. Trying to rush this just means burnt fingers and torn mochi.

3. Watch the glaze closely

Soy, sugar and mirin over medium-low will bubble and thicken, and then it goes from perfect to candy fast. Pull it off the heat the moment it turns glossy and syrupy, then toss the mochi through it while it’s still loose.

4. Too salty? Skip the bacon

Bacon plus soy glaze is a lot of salt, and if that’s not your thing, I’d still tell you to make just the pan-fried kirimochi with the sauce. It’s excellent on its own and it’s how I’d introduce someone to this whole flavor!

Storage and Leftovers

These want to be eaten right out of the pan, because mochi firms up as it cools and loses that soft chew. Leftovers keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.

Reheat them in a dry pan over medium so the bacon re-crisps and the mochi softens again. The microwave makes the mochi gummy and the bacon limp, so I’d avoid it here.

Equipment

• Frying pan
• Small sauce pan
• Tongs

Ingredients

• 5 kirimochi pieces
• 5 bacon strips
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons mirin

Substitutions and Swaps

• The kirimochi. This is the one I wouldn’t substitute. Fresh mochi or dessert mochi is soft and sweetened and will collapse in the pan rather than crisping. Kirimochi’s dried, firm blocks are what make this work at all.
• The bacon. Thin-cut crisps up more than thick-cut, which is what I’d try next time. Pancetta works and is saltier, and prosciutto crisps beautifully but almost disappears against the glaze.
• The mirin. A teaspoon of rice vinegar with a little extra sugar gets close if you don’t keep mirin around. The glaze comes out slightly sharper and less rounded, but it still coats properly.
• The soy sauce. Tamari swaps in one for one and makes it gluten-free. Low-sodium is worth considering here given the bacon, since between the two this can get very salty.
• Going meat-free. Wrap the mochi in a strip of nori instead and you’ve basically got isobeyaki, which is the version I’d point a vegetarian toward. Same glaze, same chew, no bacon needed. And if you want kirimochi going the savory-meaty direction another way, my air fryer spam mochi musubi does it with Spam and nori.

Instructions

1. Lightly oil a pan over medium heat and add the kirimochi. Cook and flip every couple of minutes until each side is crispy and lightly browned and the inside has softened. Remove and set aside.
2. Let them cool for a few minutes, and once you can handle them, wrap each piece in a strip of bacon.
3. Put the bacon-wrapped mochi back in the pan and cook, flipping every couple of minutes, until the bacon is cooked through. Remove and set aside.
4. In a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, add the soy sauce, sugar and mirin. Stir to combine, then keep stirring occasionally until the sauce bubbles up and thickens.
5. Turn off the heat and toss the bacon-wrapped mochi in the thickened sauce until coated.
6. Serve right away while the bacon is still crisp.

If the bacon pushes it too salty for you, the pan-fried kirimochi on its own with that same glaze is still worth making. That’s how I’d introduce somebody to kirimochi in the first place.

It’s a snack more than a meal, and it comes together fast enough that I make it more often than I probably should. 🙌

If you make these, leave a star rating on the recipe card and tell me in the comments how they came out. It really helps other people find the recipe, and I want to know whether you went thick-cut or thin!

Print