Mochi Donuts – Musings of Ms X.

Last weekend I took on the daunting task of making Pon de Ring donuts. Those familiar to this shape of donut usually think of mochi donuts. I first tried them while on a work trip to Japan in 2018. A member of my cohort, George, regularly visits Japan, and we became fast friends because we both like to eat. So, regardless of whether he wanted me to tag along, I would go with George to all of his favorite eating places. On our return trip to Tokyo on the bullet train, we sat next to one another, and he bought a dozen mochi donuts from Mister Donut. Fortunately for me, there were more donuts than members of the cohort, and I didn’t refuse his offer of eating more.

The donut from Mister Donut had a nice chewy texture with the right level of sweetness. To me, that will forever be my standard of what I consider delicious.

When I read a recipe, I take time to estimate how long the entire process will take, especially if it’s my first time trying it. There are 36 steps to the recipe, and I put together the mise-en-place. Measuring the ingredients didn’t take that long. Cutting 24 squares of parchment wasn’t really that challenging either, although I can envision people not into the idea of having to cut 24 4”x4” squares. I didn’t account for making 192 little balls to make the rings. The recipe called for 24 donuts and each donut had eight balls joined together. The size of my Dutch oven for the frying process holds two donuts, and each donut takes 2 minutes total to cook, so that ultimately took 24 minutes at minimum. I also had to maintain the 350-degree temperature of the oil, and sometimes I had to wait for the temperature to come back up or lower it because it got too hot.

You should eat the donuts fresh, as in straight from the pan because they are best warm. I definitely agree that when making these that the next day texture was not as good.