Mochi and Mochitsuki
Rice cake-pounding festivals welcome in the New Year
Make it stand out
Mochi (rice cake) is made from pounded mochi-gome (glutinous
rice) and is considered a special treat. The term “cake” might not be the best translation, as mochi is not airy and light. Instead, the consistency is more like taffy: stretchy, sticky, starchy and utterly delicious.
In the old days, rice was made into mochi by a laborious method of pounding and turning the rice in an usu (oversized mortar). This image is so ingrained in Japanese culture that when looking at a full moon, instead of a “man on the moon,”Japanese people see a rabbit pounding mochi. Today most mochi is made by machine, but you can still see mochi-tsuki (rice cake-pounding) ceremonies in late December in the countryside.
Another important oshogatsu element featuring mochi are Kagami (mirror) mochi; two large mochi, six- to eight inches in diameter and topped with a daidai (orange). This is an ancient tradition, dating as far back as the Muromachi period (15th century), and you can see kagami mochi displayed in homes, usually in the family Shinto shrine.
Mochi is also used for ozoni, a hearty soup that is enjoyed only on January 1st as the first meal of the New Year. Made with chicken stock and filled with a variety of vegetables and mochi, it’s a meal in a bowl, and so delicious it’s a shame it’s not available at other times of the year. On the second weekend in January, the kagami mochi is broken in a ceremony called kagami-biraki (mirror opening) and enjoyed in a sweet bean soup called oshiruko.
Photo: Traditional mochi pounding with the mortar and the wooden mallet
In and around Kyoto you can also see cascading willow branches with lovely pink and white mochi flowers called mochibana on display during the winter. Although this tradition started in the north to provide flowers in a season where there were none, it has spread throughout Japan. Today, you can buy mochi year-round at any Japanese grocery store. It’s typically dried and packaged into individual portions, in either round or rectangular form. To prepare mochi, just grill it over an open flame until the center is soft and the outside crunchy, or toast in a toaster oven.
It will rise and form bubbles as it heats. Since mochi isn’t seasoned, it’s typically eaten with soy sauce (into which the mochi can be dipped before the final roasting). Cover with a square of nori (seaweed) for a delicious and filling snack.
