Why Mochi girl

Mochi is a sweet rice cake originating from Japan that my family and I have grown to love (especially with green tea). So it seemed like a natural fit to call myself Mochi girl for this blog since I will be writing and posting photos of Japan and all the things about this country and its culture that I love. It's simple and its sweet...just like the confection we fondly enjoy and know as Mochi.

A little about Mochi

Mochi (Japanese: 餅) is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape. In Japan, Mochitsuki is the traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan.

First, the polished glutinous rice is soaked overnight and cooked.
Next,the cooked rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi. They must keep a steady rhythm or they may accidentally injure one another with the heavy kine. Yikes! Then,The sticky mass is then formed into various shapes (usually a sphere or cube).

About the Confectionery

Many types of traditional wagashi and mochigashi (Japanese traditional sweets) are made with mochi. For example, daifuku is a soft round mochi stuffed with sweet filling, such as sweetened red bean paste (an) or white bean paste (shiro an). Ichigo daifuku is a version containing a whole strawberry inside.

There are many other varieties of mochi that are equally as important such as the mochi eaten in soups during the New Year celebration. It is called Zoni.

I am happy to report that part of our plans while we are in Kobe, Japan with our great friends, the Asakawa's and the Kobayashi's, will be to make mochi. My friend Noriko has the pot in front of her house and we will make this wonderful food. I promise to post the photos!