Mochi Day: Preface

I have lots of time in my office today, so prepare yourselves for a Japanese food/culture lesson. Sorry Mom, no pictures in this one. I’ll do that one next.

Last Friday was “mochi pounding day” as Aaron and I affectionately call it. Before I can really describe this wonderful event held at the pre-school, allow me to indulge myself in some extended explanation. Being the lazy writer that I am, I will defer to my good friend, “Wikipedia,” the online encyclopedia extraordinaire.

First, some definitions (from Wikipedia, unless otherwise noted by brackets).

Mochi: is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape [Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?]. In Japan it is traditionally made in a ceremony called mochitsuki. While eaten year-round, mochi is a traditional food for the Japanese New Year and commonly sold and eaten at that time.

Mochi is very sticky and somewhat tricky to eat. After each new year, it is reported in the Japanese media how many people die from choking on mochi. The victims are usually elderly. Because it is so sticky it is difficult to dislodge via the Heimlich maneuver.

Mochi Confectionery: Many types of traditional Japanese traditional sweets are made with mochi. For example, "daifuku" is a soft round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, for example a sweetened red bean paste. "Ichigo daifuku" is a version containing a whole strawberry inside. ["Ichigo" means strawberry. I happen to have a particular fondness for this kind of mochi. We just call it strawberry mochi. The kind we buy has sweet bean paste and a strawberry inside.] There is a green variety of mochi flavored with "yomogi" (mugwort). [I love yomogi! They also make bread with it and it’s one of my favorite treats. Does anyone in America eat mugwort?]

Mochi Trivia: In Japanese folk tradition, rabbits living on the Moon produce mochi in the traditional method with mallets and mortars. This legend is based on the traditional idea that identifies the markings of the moon as a rabbit pounding mochi. [Americans see a man’s face in the moon, but the Japanese see a rabbit.]

Red bean paste (or "azuki" bean paste )is a sweet, dark purplish-red paste used in Chinese cuisine, Japanese confectionery and Korean cuisine. It is prepared by boiling, mashing azuki beans and then sweetening the paste with sugar or honey.

Okay…that’s it for the definitions. Mochi plays a big role in Japanese food and culture, so I felt it was worth it to spend some time explaining everything. Now I’ll write the blog to describe last Friday, as well as the photos.