isobeyaki mochi | 磯辺焼
Kenji Morimoto•
Sep 10, 2025
We always had bags of senbei (Japanese rice crackers) at home growing up, usually a combo of different types but my favourite were rice crackers in a salty sweet shoyu (soy sauce) glaze and wrapped in nori.
Isobeyaki, a common grilled (or toasted) mochi - clearly reminds me of this but is objectively more decadent: soft chewy and slightly charred mochi, an umami sweet sauce and then texturally fun thanks to the crunch of the nori. Alternatively, the mochi can also be toasted in the oven or even boiled. The beauty of mochi.
Once you have your hands on some kiri mochi, the rest of the prep is fairly straight forward and you probably have nearly everything you need in your pantry. And eat these whilst they're still warm and gooey!
Kenji Morimoto is a London-based Japanese American food writer and content creator who specializes in fermentation. He draws from his cultural heritage to teach, write, and share culinary knowledge through various platforms, including his popular Instagram @kenjcooks and his upcoming book "Ferment."
Ingredients (5)
Ingredients (5)
Instructions
In a dry non-stick pan, toast the whole kirimochi for 3-4 minutes on low-medium heat until gooey and lightly charred on the outside
Add the soy sauce and honey to the pan and mix the sauce with the mochi whilst still on the heat. Work quickly here as the sauce will quickly start to evaporate due to the heat.
Wrap each one in a sheet of Nori and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
