Eating Mochi

Mochi is the japanese rice cake. Mochi is made by pounding rice until it compresses into a hard solid.

This particular ceremonial mochi comes in a pack that includes some other decorative add ons. The box comes with instruction on setting up it up in this pattern. It is usually setup a couple of days before the new year. (The Japanese now celebrate their new year around the western new year i.e. Jan 1st) The mochi is inside the two layered mound like white structure.

On 11th January, the mochi is opened. The rice cake is inside a plastic container.

We cut the pack to pull out the mochi

Mochi is really hard and you need a lot of pressure (and a sharp knife) to cut it into smaller pieces.

The mochi can be fried, boiled or baked. Here you see baked mochi pieces in sweet red bean soup. Very nice. Once the rice cake absorbs some water it gets a “difficult to chew” texture. It just keeps slipping between your teeth.

There are lots of cases in Japan where people have suffocated while trying to swallow mochi. The mochi pack comes with a note advising us to cut mochi into small pieces (the fourth bullet point from top) before consuming. Also check out japundit’s post on mochi mortem

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