Mochi are chewy Japanese rice cakes traditionally made by pounding a particularly sticky variety of Japanese rice (mochigome) until it resembles a dough.
Mochi is a common ingredient for Japanese dishes, desserts and confections. The following are the best known mochi foods:
The symbolism of the red showing through the white symbolizes the Japanese plum (ume). The ume in turn is symbolic of perseverance and renewal.
The traditional method of mochi making (mochitsuki) is still practiced at New Years and events such as festivals. There are four basic steps:
1. Polished Japanese glutinous rice is soaked overnight.
2. The rice is cooked.
3. The cooked rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). This is the back breaking part. Often two or three people will alternate the work in a rhythmic pounding. One person is assigned to flip the mochi and add water after each strike. This can actually be dangerous for the hands at times. Mochi masters make a big show of their work.
4. The resulting mochi is portioned out and formed into various shapes.
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Mochi is a common ingredient for Japanese dishes, desserts and confections. The following are the best known mochi foods:
1. Daifuku
A soft round mochi stuffed with sweet red bean paste or white bean paste.
2. Ichigo Daifuku
A daifuku with anko and a whole strawberry inside.
3. Kusa Mochi
Kusa Mochi (literally: grass mochi) is a green colored mochi flavored with mugwort (yomogi).
4. Mochi Ice Cream
Small colorful balls of mochi stuffed with ice cream.
5. Oshiruko
A sweet dessert soup made with azuki beans and pieces of mochi.
6. Chikara Udon
Hot udon (thick Japanese wheat flour noodles) topped with toasted mochi.
7. Zoni
A samurai soup made with vegetables and mochi. Eaten on New Year's Day.
8. Kinako Mochi
Another food associated with Japanese New Year's. Toasted mochi topped with sugar and kinako (roasted soy flour).
9. Kirimochi or Kakumochi
Blocks of mochi that are used as a basic ingredient of Japanese cooking. People toast them and eat them with a sweet topping or add them to noodles, stews or any dish you can imagine.
10. Dango
A Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour). Dango have a texture and taste similar to mochi but aren't technically mochi.
11. Warabi Mochi
A jelly made from bracken starch and covered in kinako (soy flour). It contains no rice. Nevertheless, it's widely considered a type of mochi.
12. Uiro Mochi
A Japanese steamed cake made of rice flour and sugar. Another dessert that's not a true mochi but is so named for its chewy texture.
13. Hishi Mochi
A symbolic dessert served on Girls Day (Hinamatsuri) made of three colors of mochi — red (pink), white, and green (from top to bottom). The red is colored with cape jasmine flowers, white with water caltrop and green with mugwort. These ingredients have symbolic meanings and are thought to be restore health and energy.
14. Sakura Mochi
Another treat for Girls Day — a pink mochi stuffed with red bean paste covered with a edible sakura leaf .
15. Hanabira Mochi
Hanabira Mochi (flower petal mochi) are eaten on New Year's Day and the first tea ceremony of the new year in a tradition begun by the Imperial family. Hanabira mochi have a distinctive shape with white mochi on the outside and red (pink) mochi on the inside. The white mochi must be translucent to show the pink below. The inside is filled with anko (sweet red bean paste).The symbolism of the red showing through the white symbolizes the Japanese plum (ume). The ume in turn is symbolic of perseverance and renewal.
Other Mochi
There are hundreds of mochi varieties and countless original creations to be discovered at Japanese restaurants, dessert shops and souvenir shops (regional varieties).
Fun With Heavy Mallets
Mochi making was traditionally a labor intensive task. These days, most mochi are produced by factories or kitchen appliances (mochi makers).
The traditional method of mochi making (mochitsuki) is still practiced at New Years and events such as festivals. There are four basic steps:
1. Polished Japanese glutinous rice is soaked overnight.
2. The rice is cooked.
3. The cooked rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). This is the back breaking part. Often two or three people will alternate the work in a rhythmic pounding. One person is assigned to flip the mochi and add water after each strike. This can actually be dangerous for the hands at times. Mochi masters make a big show of their work.
4. The resulting mochi is portioned out and formed into various shapes.
Family Traditions
Kids enjoy making mochi. At one time, most Japanese families owned a kine and usu. Many families still have a set packed away that they pull out for special occasions.
| Mochi is ranked | #3 of 96 Vegetarian Japanese Foods #9 of 28 Japanese Foods #16 of 24 Ingredients for Japanese Food |
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