What Can I Substitute for Glutinous Rice Flour?

Showing Australian names and measurements · change country in the menu

Swap for glutinous rice flour: shiratamako, 100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour. Verdict: straight swap

Made from wet-milled glutinous rice, it gives the same stretchy chew and binding in mochi and dango because the starch is the same waxy type. Full details

Checked 25 October 2026 · Rankings aren't for sale

What's it doing in this dish?

You're kneading a soft dough with water to shape mochi, daifuku, dango or tang yuan, and it needs to stretch without cracking and cook up chewy.

shiratamako — 100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour

Shiratamako is made from the same glutinous rice, so its waxy starch gives the same stretch, chew and binding; every other option on this page either cracks, goes stringy or sets hard in a hand-shaped dough.

You're baking a butter mochi cake or another chewy rice cake where the batter is poured into a tin and baked rather than shaped by hand.

shiratamako — 100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour
tapioca flour — 100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour
rice flour and tapioca flour blend — 50 g rice flour plus 50 g tapioca flour for every 100 g glutinous rice flour

Shiratamako is the closest if you have it; otherwise the tin and the eggs do some of the structural work, so tapioca's high-amylopectin starch can supply the chew and binding, though it comes out bouncier, and the blend sets more like a cake with a milder chew.

You're using a spoonful of glutinous rice flour to thicken a gravy, stir-fry sauce or soup.

cornflour — 15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)
potato starch — 15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)

Only the thickening role matters here, and both are purer starches that thicken more strongly, so half the volume does the job; neither keeps a sauce as stable through freezing as the waxy rice starch does.

You're dusting chicken, tofu or vegetables before frying and want a thin, crisp shell.

potato starch — 15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)
cornflour — 15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)

Both fry to a crisp, dry shell, with potato starch the lighter and crisper of the two; you lose the slightly chewy layer under the crust that glutinous rice flour gives.

You're making sesame balls, nian gao, kuih or another fried or steamed glutinous rice dough where the soft, stretchy chew is the whole reason for the dish.

Nothing really replaces it here.

The chew comes from starch that is almost all amylopectin, and only glutinous rice products have it; tapioca turns rubbery and stringy, regular rice flour turns hard and crumbly, and cornflour or potato starch won't hold a dough at all, so buy glutinous rice flour or shiratamako or choose another recipe.

What Glutinous Rice Flour does in a recipe

chewy, stretchy texture · primary — Its starch is almost entirely amylopectin, so when cooked with water it turns sticky, elastic and chewy instead of setting firm or crumbly.
binding · primary — The gelatinised starch becomes a glue-like paste that holds doughs, dumpling wrappers and gluten-free bakes together without any gluten.
thickening · secondary — It thickens sauces and gravies smoothly, and because waxy starch resists retrogradation the sauce stays smooth after chilling or freezing instead of weeping.
crisp coating · secondary — In batters and fried doughs such as sesame balls it fries to a thin, blistered, crisp shell over a chewy inside.

Every substitute, ranked

Substitute	Amount	Verdict
shiratamako	100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour	Straight swap
cornflour	15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)	One catch
potato starch	15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)	One catch
tapioca flour	100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour	Close enough
rice flour and tapioca flour blend	50 g rice flour plus 50 g tapioca flour for every 100 g glutinous rice flour	Close enough

Australian tablespoons are 20 ml. UK, New Zealand, US and Canadian recipes use 15 ml, so their 1 tbsp is 3 Australian teaspoons.

shiratamako

Straight swap

100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour

Made from wet-milled glutinous rice, it gives the same stretchy chew and binding in mochi and dango because the starch is the same waxy type.

Covers: chewy, stretchy texture, binding, thickening, crisp coating
Taste: The flavour is slightly cleaner and milder, with no noticeable change in most dishes.
Texture: The chew is a little smoother and silkier, and the dough stays soft a touch longer.
Looks: Mochi and dango come out slightly glossier and whiter.
Best for: mochi and daifuku, dango, tang yuan

Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free

Tried this swap? How did it work?

cornflour

One catch· probably in your pantry

15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)

As a purer starch it thickens more strongly than glutinous rice flour, so it covers thickening at half the amount but gives none of the chew or binding.

The catch: Use half the volume, mix it to a slurry with cold water before stirring it in, and measure both with the same spoon because an Australian 20 ml tablespoon holds a third more than a US one; if the dish must be gluten-free, buy cornflour labelled as made from maize, as some Australian cornflour is made from wheat.

Covers: thickening, crisp coating
Misses: chewy, stretchy texture, binding
Taste: The taste is neutral and you won't notice a difference.
Texture: The sauce is just as smooth when fresh but can turn spongy or weep after freezing.
Looks: The sauce looks a little more translucent and glossy.
Best for: thickening sauces and gravies, stir-fry sauces, crisp frying coatings

Dairy-freeVeganNut-free

Tried this swap? How did it work?

potato starch

One catch

15 ml for every 30 ml glutinous rice flour (3 tsp)

It thickens strongly and fries very crisp, so it covers the thickening and coating jobs at half the amount, but it cannot give the chewy, bound texture.

The catch: Use half the volume and add it near the end of cooking, because potato starch thins out again if it is boiled hard for long.

Covers: thickening, crisp coating
Misses: chewy, stretchy texture, binding
Taste: The taste is neutral in sauces and coatings.
Texture: Sauces are silky but thin out if boiled too long, and fried coatings are crisper and lighter with no chewy layer underneath.
Looks: Sauces turn very clear and glossy, and fried coatings are paler.
Best for: thickening soups and sauces, fried chicken coating, dusting mochi

Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free

Tried this swap? How did it work?

tapioca flour

Close enough

100 g for every 100 g glutinous rice flour

Tapioca is also high in amylopectin, so it binds and gives chew in baked goods, but the chew is bouncier and gummier rather than soft and dense.

Covers: chewy, stretchy texture, binding, thickening, crisp coating
Taste: The flavour is more neutral, losing the faint sweet rice note.
Texture: Bakes are springier and more rubbery, and hand-shaped mochi made with it is stringy and hard to shape.
Looks: Baked goods brown a little less and look more translucent inside.
Best for: butter mochi cake, chewy gluten-free muffins, thickening fruit fillings

Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free

Tried this swap? How did it work?

rice flour and tapioca flour blend

Close enough

50 g rice flour plus 50 g tapioca flour for every 100 g glutinous rice flour

Regular rice flour brings the rice flavour and body while tapioca supplies some chew and binding, so baked mochi-style cakes set but come out less chewy.

Covers: chewy, stretchy texture, binding, thickening
Misses: crisp coating
Taste: The rice flavour is close to the original, with a slightly flatter sweetness.
Texture: The crumb is more cake-like and slightly grainy, with only a mild chew.
Looks: The inside looks more opaque and less glossy than a true mochi cake.
Best for: butter mochi cake, baked rice flour cakes

Dairy-freeVeganGluten-freeNut-free

Tried this swap? How did it work?

Commonly tried, but skip these

People reach for these, and they let you down.

rice flour

Skip it

People try it because both are labelled rice flour and the powders look much alike in the bag, but regular rice flour lacks the waxy starch that makes mochi, tang yuan and sesame balls chewy, so the dough won't hold together and the finished texture is hard and crumbly.

Tried this swap? How did it work?

When to buy the real thing

You're making hand-shaped mochi, tang yuan, sesame balls or any glutinous rice dumpling and have no shiratamako.
Instead: Buy glutinous rice flour from an Asian grocer or the Asian aisle of a large supermarket, and check the label says glutinous, because regular rice flour in a very similar bag often sits right beside it.
You're making a large batch of sauce or gravy that will be frozen and reheated.
Instead: Buy glutinous rice flour for the batch, or freeze the sauce unthickened and thicken it with cornflour or potato starch after reheating.
You're cooking for someone who must eat gluten-free and the only cornflour in the pantry is wheaten cornflour.
Instead: Use potato starch or tapioca flour instead, or buy cornflour labelled as made from maize.

Rescue a swap gone wrong

The mochi or dumpling dough keeps cracking, won't stretch around the filling and cooks up hard and gritty.

Why: Regular rice flour was used instead of glutinous rice flour, and its higher amylose starch sets firm rather than turning stretchy.

Can't be fixed — next time: This batch can't be turned into mochi, so pan-fry the pieces as rice cakes or discard them, and next time check the packet says glutinous or sweet rice flour before you start.

The butter mochi cake made with tapioca flour is rubbery and bouncy rather than soft and chewy.

Why: Tapioca starch gives a springier, gummier gel than glutinous rice starch, and it firms further as the cake cools.

Can't be fixed — next time: Warm slices briefly in the microwave to soften them for serving, and next time use the rice flour and tapioca flour blend for a softer crumb.

The sauce thickened with cornflour or potato starch has gone thick and gluggy.

Why: The full amount was used instead of half, or the recipe was written with a 15 ml tablespoon and measured with a 20 ml Australian tablespoon, which holds a third more.

Fix: Whisk in hot stock or water a splash at a time over low heat until the sauce loosens to the consistency you want.

The sauce thickened with potato starch was glossy at first but went thin and runny as it kept simmering.

Why: Potato starch breaks down and loses its thickening power when boiled hard for long.

Fix: Take the pan off the heat, stir in a fresh slurry of potato starch mixed with cold water, and bring it just back to a simmer before serving.

Key numbers

Amylose content of the starch: 0–2%Nearly all the starch is amylopectin, which is why it goes stretchy and sticky while regular rice flour, with far more amylose, sets firm and crumbly.
Protein: about 6%The protein is not gluten, so all the structure comes from the starch.
Carbohydrate: about 80%Almost all of the carbohydrate is starch, which is what does the binding and thickening.

Differences between countries

Applies to Australia

Glutinous does not mean gluten (Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Canada)

The word glutinous refers to the sticky, glue-like texture of the cooked rice, not to gluten. Plain glutinous rice flour is gluten-free, though anyone with coeliac disease should still check the packet for a gluten-free claim or cross-contact warning.

Sold as sweet rice flour or mochiko (United States, Canada)

In the US it is usually labelled sweet rice flour or mochiko rather than glutinous rice flour, and Canadian shelves carry both names. Sweet rice flour is not sweetened; the name comes from the variety, which is often called sweet rice.

Applies to Australia

Wheaten cornflour on the shelf (Australia)

Some Australian cornflour is made from wheat rather than maize, so it is not gluten-free. If you are swapping cornflour in for thickening in a gluten-free dish, check that the packet says it is made from maize.

Where to buy it

Applies to Australia

Australia · easy to find

Asian grocers and the Asian aisle of large supermarkets

Check the bag says glutinous, because regular rice flour in very similar packaging is usually stocked right beside it.

New Zealand · moderate to find

Asian grocers and the Asian aisle of larger supermarkets

Asian grocers are the most reliable source, especially outside the main cities.

United Kingdom · moderate to find

Chinese and Asian supermarkets

Some large supermarkets stock it in the world foods aisle, but an Asian supermarket is the surest bet.

United States · easy to find

Asian grocers, international aisle and gluten-free baking section

Look for sweet rice flour or mochiko on the label.

Canada · moderate to find

Asian grocers and the international aisle

It is easy to find in cities with large Asian grocers and harder to find elsewhere.

What is Glutinous Rice Flour called in other countries?

Australia	glutinous rice flour
United Kingdom	glutinous rice flour
New Zealand	glutinous rice flour
United States	sweet rice flour
Canada	glutinous rice flour

sticky rice flourmochikowaxy rice flour

Measurements differ too, not just names: the kitchen conversion chart covers cups, spoons and oven temperatures across these countries.

Questions people ask

Does glutinous rice flour contain gluten?

No, glutinous rice flour contains no gluten. The name describes how sticky and glue-like the rice becomes when cooked, and its protein is not gluten. If you need it to be strictly gluten-free, check the packet for a gluten-free claim or a cross-contact warning.

Is glutinous rice flour the same as rice flour?

No, they are different flours made from different types of rice. Glutinous rice flour has starch that is almost all amylopectin, so it turns stretchy and chewy, while regular rice flour has far more amylose and sets firm and crumbly. Regular rice flour will not work in mochi, tang yuan or sesame balls.

Is mochiko the same as glutinous rice flour?

Yes, mochiko is the Japanese name for glutinous rice flour and you can use them interchangeably by weight. Shiratamako is also made from glutinous rice but is wet-milled into coarse granules, which gives a slightly smoother, silkier chew.

Can I use plain flour instead of glutinous rice flour?

Not for mochi, dumplings or other dishes where the chew matters. Plain flour relies on gluten for its structure, so it makes a bready or doughy texture rather than a soft, stretchy chew, and it also makes the dish no longer gluten-free.

How much cornflour do I use instead of a tablespoon of glutinous rice flour?

Use half as much cornflour as the glutinous rice flour the recipe calls for, mixed to a slurry with cold water first. Measure both with the same spoon, because an Australian 20 ml tablespoon holds a third more than the 15 ml tablespoon used in most overseas recipes, and the extra can make the sauce gluggy.

Is sweet rice flour actually sweet?

No, sweet rice flour is not sweetened and tastes only faintly of rice. It is simply another name for glutinous rice flour, taken from the rice variety it is milled from.

Where Glutinous Rice Flour comes from

Glutinous rice flour is made by milling glutinous, or sticky, rice, a type of rice grown widely in East and Southeast Asia. The rice and its flour get their name from their glue-like stickiness when cooked, not from gluten, which they do not contain.

Glutinous Rice Flour is usually dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free — check the label, and see the disclaimer.