Mochi 餅

Another post about Japan. Today I want to tell you more about food, in particular – traditional deserts. The first time I tried mochi was not in Japan, but that kind of wired, gooey texture made me wonder do I like it or not? To be honest, I can’t tell even now. However, the texture and taste are so unique and specific that it makes you want to try more and more.

Mochi (餅) - rice cake. You can buy them through the year almost in any place! Originally, mochi were popular among the samurais. In addition to that, mochi is considered as "food of Gods" because in ancient times mochi were offered to kami (gods) at shrines and after the ritual, they were cut into small pieces and shared between people for health and fortune.

So, what are they made of?

👩🏻‍🍳Mochigome - special glutinous rice;

👩🏻‍🍳Water;

👩🏻‍🍳Air. Yah, air! Mochi are made with the process of smashing either by traditional hammers or modern machines. Those actions of pounding saturate the texture of future rice cakes with air bubbles, which in turn make mochi gooey and stretchy.

Besides that, mochi are served with different fillers or souses, depending on the type of the rice cake. Here I will list a couple of the most popular varieties of mochi:

🍡Daifuku - round shape mochi cake stuffed with sweetened bean paste, either anko (red bean paste) or shiroan (white bean paste). Usually “Daifuku” comes in white, pink, or pale green color.

🍡Botamochi/ohagi - is kind of inside-out Daifuku, so the red bean paste is wrapped around a mochi rice ball.

🍡Sakura mochi (cherry blossom mochi) - very similar to Daifuku, it comes in a light pink color and is filled with sweetened red/white bean. In addition to that, sakura mochi are wrapped with salted sakura leaf.

🍡Warabi mochi - a soft, jelly-like texture desert, which is made of the warabi plant instead of machigome. It is served with toasted kinako (soybean flour) or kuromitsu (brown sugar syrup).

🍡Hishimochi - a diamond-shaped rice cake, which has 3 layers: pink, white, and green. Pink stands for plum blossoms and good health; white - signifies winter and long life; green - spring and new life. This type of rice cake is served during Hinamatsuri.

🍡Hanabira mochi - a traditional dessert for the Kyoto region. This type of the rice cake has a flat shape of motchi, which is folded over anko and a small stick of gobo burdock root.

🍡Hanami Dango - sweet dumplings made with rice flour and skewered on a stick. Usually, it’s 3 balls in pink, white and green color. They can be served with syrup made from soy sauce and sugar.

Finally, there is also 🍡Kagami Mochi - a traditional New Year dessert, which is made in a shape of a snowman: 2 big mochi balls one on another and a mini mandarin on top. This sweet is a symbol of New Year for Japanese just as a "Christmas Tree".

Hope the post was interesting and informative! Thank you for reading and have a nice day 💕

Hanami Dango

Sakura mochi