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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January 27th, 2006 at 12:58 am
The Mochi I came across in Japan were sold as soft ones, with sweetened fillings. First time I’ve seen this pre-packed one (it’s prepacked, and hence it’s hard I guess). I’ve always wondered if our local “Muay-Chee” is somehow a derivative from the Japanese “Mochi”.
February 3rd, 2006 at 5:54 pm
nice!
I have always wondered how to cook this. i thought some ppl can even grill it on charcoal and have it wif tea?
February 6th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
Hi Ivan, Actually it may be the other way round. Both Hokkien and some Japanese words come from an older spoken Chinese. So Muay-Chee and Mochi might have a common root word.
Candyfeehily, yes grill mochi too. Mochi is cut into small pieces and left out to dry. Later they are fried or roasted and served with soy sauce.
April 20th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Hi,
I have these prepacked, very hard, mochi at home and I’ve tried several times to boil them in water, but the end result is extremely sticky and almost impossible to chew. If this is the way it’s supposed to be then I don’t get why people like it so much.
(I do have to mention that the fresh ones I ate in Japan had a much better structure and were more tastier. But why would anybody buy these prepacked ones?)
After reading your article, I’m wondering how to go about cooking or grilling them? Can I put these hard cubes directly on the grill or in the frying pan? Or do they need to be soaked first?
How would I know when they are ready?
Is there a non-sticky method of preparing them?
Many thanks,
Sven.
April 24th, 2006 at 11:02 pm
hello sven,
You must bake the mochi pieces like how you make toast. Use the grill toaster. The mochi pieces will expand until it cracks - the surface will be crispy and the inside will still be soft. You can eat this mochi with 1)soya sauce and wrapped with seaweed or 2) red bean soup or any clear soup.
January 4th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
We received a Mochi pack from a former exchange student. The entire box was printed in Japanese, so we had no idea what in the world it was. I opened the wrapped packs inside thinking at first that they were soaps. I then scraped a small sliver off and tasted it- and decided that they were made of wax!
When we learned that it is something to eat, we were frankly even more mystified!