Matcha Zenzai is a delicious dessert soup with all your favorite Japanese flavors and textures—soft and chewy mochi rice cakes, sweet red bean paste, and umami green tea powder. Enjoy this unique and traditional sweet treat either hot or cold.
Zenzai ぜんざい (or Oshiruko お汁粉) is Azuki red bean soup, and this warm sweet is often enjoyed during cold winter. Today I made the green tea version Matcha Zenzai 抹茶ぜんざい, which is also very popular in Japanese cafes and restaurants that serve sweets.
Enjoy Matcha Zenzai All Year Round
As many of you know, I absolutely love anything with matcha. What I like the best about this treat is that it can be enjoyed all year round. Matcha Zensai can be served cold during the hot summer days or served hot in the cold winter months.
It’s very quick to make too if you suddenly have guests visiting and need to serve some snacks or dessert. It’s a perfect little treat for tea time with your friends or after-dinner dessert for your family.
Matcha for Matcha Zenzai
The traditional zenzai uses azuki red bean for the soup but this zenzai uses matcha (green tea powder) instead. Therefore, the matcha you use should be of culinary quality. If you’re new to matcha or interested in which matcha brand I use, please read here.
As this is a dessert recipe and not the traditional matcha drink, sugar is added to the soup. You might already know that matcha can be bitter (well, it is bitter), so please adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe according to your liking. Keep in mind the amount of sweetness will also depend on how sweet the anko is.
Anko (Sweet Azuki Red Bean Paste)
If you use store-bought anko, it’s quite sweet already. I recommend following my recipe below exactly for your matcha soup. Homemade anko does taste much better than store-bought so if you have time, I hope you will try my Homemade Anko recipe. It’s really delicious and definitely worth spending the extra effort. If you’re purchasing anko, I recommend Ogura-an brand which has the perfect consistency for this dessert.
Mochi or Shiratama Dango
Zenzai usually includes toasted (plain) mochi or Shiratama Dango. I personally enjoy eating the red bean soup with the little charred crispy mochi, but I know Japanese rice cakes (kiri mochi) can be hard to get in some countries.
So for today’s recipe, I used shiratama dango, or sweet rice dumplings, which are made of shiratamako (glutinous/sweet rice flour). If you cannot find shiratamako locally, substitute with mochiko which can be purchased from Amazon. Remember to use the Japanese brand of sweet rice flour as it’s made of short-grain glutinous/sweet rice.
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Matcha Zenzai
Ingredients
For 6 Shiratama Dango
- ¼ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) or mochiko
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp warm water
For the Matcha Zenzai
- 1 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
- 1–1½ Tbsp sugar (adjust to taste; you may want to reduce the sugar amount if you use store-bought red bean paste as it tends to be very sweet)
- 1 cup hot water (80–90ºC/176–194ºF)
- 4.2 oz sweet red bean paste (anko) (I use tsubuan chunky paste for the texture, but you also can use koshian fine paste)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Make the Shiratama Dango
- Put ¼ cup shiratamako (glutinous rice flour/sweet rice flour) or mochiko and ¼ tsp sugar in a bowl. Stir in 2 Tbsp warm water, a little bit a time, until the dough is combined and smooth. Take the dough out of the bowl and roll it into a ball. The texture of the dough is like an earlobe (that’s how we describe this particular tenderness in Japanese).
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball and then press the center to flatten. With a flat center, the shiratama dango will cook faster. Continue with the rest of pieces.
- Cook the shiratama dango in boiling water. When the dango are cooked through, about 1–2 minutes, they’ll start to float. Remove and soak in ice water to cool.
- Alternatively, if you want to save time, instead of making shiratama dango, you can use kiri mochi (pre-cut rice cakes). Cut each into 4 small pieces and toast in the toaster oven until puffed up.
To Make the Matcha Tea
- Put 1–1½ Tbsp sugar in a medium bowl and sift 1 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder) in a fine-mesh sieve to remove any lumps.
- Add a little bit of the hot water and mix with a whisk (I used a bamboo whisk) until well combined.
- Add the rest of the hot water (for a total of 1 cup hot water) and mix well.
To Assemble the Zenzai
- Divide and add 4.2 oz sweet red bean paste (anko) and the shiratama dango among individual serving bowls.
- Pour the matcha tea into the bowls and garnish with a little bit of anko. I recommend enjoying it soon.
I have to drive to another state in my city in order to buy Shiratamako! And buy a red bean to try your homemade red bean paste. In the Japanese store where I buy the Shiratamako, they give me an advice about the matcha I can use for this recipe. It’s just a party for our family ( 4 of us), but I think we deserve a faboulous dessert for the weekend, right? Again… Thank you.
Wow, Caroline!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
We’re so glad to hear your long journey ended up with tasty Matcha Zensai!
Thank you for sharing your story!
Sooo yummy and easy to make!!!! Nami isn’t kidding when she says it only takes 30 minutes to make. I’m usually a lot slower then what the recipe says it will take, but not this time!
One question I have when you make the cold version: my dango came out very rubbery. (I could only find Machiko). Is there anything I can do to make it softer?
Hi Miki! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thank you for your kind feedback! 🙂 Hmmmm mochiko makes kind of softer, smoother, less elastic (?) texture than Shiratama Dango… I’m not sure if I would describe it “rubbery” though. Were they cooked through? Do you think you can add a bit more water to make it softer texture?
I added more water when making the dango, and it worked like a charm! Thank you!
Hi Miki! Good to hear your update. Thank you so much for taking the time to let us know! 🙂
Tried this Tonight and it’s fabulous. The dango turned out just right, chewy and slightly sweetened. Goes perfectly with the matcha syrup.
Just a question, the Anko I prepared earlier was cold from the fridge and so were the dango coming from the ice bath, the matcha syrup however was warm. Should this dessert be enjoyed warm when all three components are combined ?
Or should it be all cold?
Hi Finn! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! For cold, I’d prepare matcha mixture ahead of time and chill or put it over iced bath. To make it warm, you can cook it in the pot and pour hot matcha mixture. The dango can be eaten right away after you take out from the hot water too. 🙂
OMG this is my new favorite food! Breakfast! The matcha and red bean are so good together! I used the canned Ogura An red bean so it was very sweet so I didn’t put any sugar in the matcha at all. I loved the bitter matcha contrasting with the sweet red bean. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve never had zenzai or even heard of it before.
Hi Cindy! I’m so glad you give this recipe a try even though you never heard of it. It made me happy that you still gave this recipe a try! Thanks so much for your kind feedback. xo
I made this recipe and it seems like 1 cup of water for the matcha is WAY too much! The matcha was watery and completely covered the dango – in fact it didn’t even seem to fit in the cups. Otherwise this is a great, easy afternoon dessert so in the future I will probably use 1/4 cup water (and less matcha powder to compensate).
Hi Brent! This recipe is for two, and each person should have at least 120 ml (half cup) of soup (matcha). “Zenzai ぜんざい” or “oshiruko お汁粉” is a red bean dessert soup dish. But if you like it as just a sauce, you can definitely reduce the amount of matcha and liquid. 🙂
Hi Nami
Just want to let you know I have tried several of your recipes like Teriyaki chicken and Grilled saba and my family simply love them! I would like to try making this Japanese dessert but can I ask if I can use glutinous rice flour from Chinese stores? We live in Singapore so the Asian type of glutinous rice flour is very common but not so for the Japanese type. Same question for the rice flour (in your Dango recipe) can I use the Asian rice flour? Thanks again Nami for always posting so many wonderful recipes! Best wishes to you and your family!
Hi Minn! I’m so happy to hear your family enjoys my recipes! Thank you for your kind feedback!
I believe glutinous rice flour made from long grain rice vs. one from short grain Japanese rice is very different just like how two of the rice taste different and texture is different. But if that’s the only thing you can find, then you just have to use it. I’m not sure how the stickiness and flavor is. If you had a chance to try the Japanese mochi, maybe you can tell if what you made with Chinese flours are same or not…. 🙂
Thank you for your kind wishes!
I used to love how there was always link in every recipe to save it as pdf. Now its gone 🙁 🙁 A big loss, If I can say…
Hi Marie! I haven’t changed a thing for a long time… We used to use another recipe plugin but that company is closed down, so since then I’ve been using this current recipe plugin.
And from here, it’s your browser’s print option. You can either print out or save as PDF. It works fine with our computers at home, so I’m thinking maybe your setting has changed?
Please feel free to let me know if I could help you further. 🙂
Can the dango and matcha zenzai be made the day ahead (stored in the fridge) to be assembled and served cold the next day? Or should this dessert be made just before eating and enjoyed warm?
Hi Ange! Shiratama dango is at best right after boiling/cooking. However, you can store it in the water till next day if you have no time on the day to serve. But I hope you have a chance to try the shiratama dango right after cooking. It’s really worth spending 15 minutes (depending on the amount of dango). 🙂 For matcha, it’s also the best right after making – the fragrance and color… not sure how it is after a day, since I’ve never tried making ahead of time. I’ve tried making matcha syrup (for shaved ice recipe) ahead of time and that was actually okay. Let me know if you end up making ahead of time and it still worked after re-heating it. 🙂
Nami,
Quick question: is it true that if we use boiling water with matcha powder, then the tea will end up more bitter than if we use hot but not yet boiling water? If it is true, how hot should it be?
Hi Tuty! We don’t use boiling water for matcha. I added a bit more details but hot water should be 80-90C (176-194F). I use electric kettle, but if you have to boil water, you can leave it out little bit before using. Hope this helps! 🙂
I cannot get the link to work for learning more about the matcha. I am having guests from out of town in a couple weeks, and will be going to the Japanese grocer this weekend. So I just wondered, can you recommend a brand or type of matcha powder to get? I also can’t get the shiratamako page to work (it says too many redirects??), but I have seen it before and remember that you recommended a specific kind? I can easily get mochiko, but I would like to try to make it with the other ingredient if possible.
Thank you for all these great recipes! I’m really glad that I can learn to make all the nostalgic foods I miss from when I lived in Japan. 😀
Hi Courtney! Thanks for letting me know – we’ve been working back end but it’s fixed now. 🙂
Here’s the link just in case:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/green-tea-powder-matcha/
I have 2 recommendations there.
Shiratamako page also now works:
https://www.justonecookbook.com/pantry_items/shiratamako/
Japanese grocery store should carry it. Hope you have a wonderful time with your guests and that they will enjoy this recipe.
Thank you for your kind words! 🙂
Thank you! I can view them both now. I’m excited to try this~~!
What a great dessert recipe! I love all three components—dango, anko, and matcha—so this is like heaven to me. 🙂 Hope you and your family are enjoying Japan!
Hi Kimmi! Thank you so much – me too, I love every components in this dessert… the best part is that I can make it fairy quickly. 😉 Thank you, we’re having a good time! 🙂
Did the anko for the first time, brilliant.
Now off to buy Macha and tonight we have dessert.
Thank you for sharing
Hi Claudio! I’m really happy to hear you tried homemade anko! Isn’t that amazing? Store-bought is easy and convenient, but it’s a bit too sweet for my taste and homemade is just wonderful! Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
That looks so good! And anything matcha is calling my name! Can’t wait to try this–thank you for sharing!
Hi Donna! Me too… I love everything with matcha flavor. I’m so happy there are matcha flavor everywhere in Japan. 😀 I hope you enjoy this quick recipe! 🙂