Omochi: Delicious, Lucky, and DEADLY!

Mochi is a kind of gooey rice cake, which is eaten in many forms throughout the year. There are very soft sweet mochi cakes with red bean paste inside called Daifuku. We can also buy hard mochi in square shapes, called kirimochi. We heat kirimochi in a pan or grill over fire till it gets soft, then coat it with soy sauce, wrap it in nori and eat. Mochi is a big part of New Years in Japan. We buy a special kind of mochi before New Years called kagamimochi, which is one ball of hard mochi on top of a larger ball of mochi, making it look like a snowman. Kagamomochi is purchased sometime between Christmas and New Years, and it is kept uncooked until around the 7th of January, when it is broken into small pieces, cooked, and eaten. We call this ceremony kagamiwari or kagamibiraki , which means the breaking of the kagamimochi.

Mochi is popular during New Years because it has many connections to having good luck and good fortune. Another, more practical reason we eat mochi at New Years is that mochi, like many other kinds of New Years foods can keep from spoiling for a long period of time. In the old days stores would close for a week or more, so people had to make due with what they had in their houses for that period during the holiday. Another way we eat mochi during New Years is by putting pieces of kirimochi in a soup, which is called ozoni. Sometimes we can grill the mochi a bit before putting it in the soup, but basically it softens in the soup. This soup has many local forms. In the Kanto area (Tokyo) ozoni is a light soy sauce and bonito flake soup with square mochi. In the Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) ozoni is a miso soup with round peices of mochi. And if you go to any area you're likely to find many other varieties of ozoni. So we have been eating lots of mochi in many shapes and colors these days.

Unfortunately, and somewhat tragi-comically, many older people in Japan die every New Years from eating mochi. It gets stuck in their throat and they don't have the strength to cough it up, so they end up choking on it. Already one person (that I know of) has died from mochi this year, on New Years day. The best way to save someone who is choking on mochi is to stick a vacuum cleaner hose in their throat. Apparently the Heimlich maneuver is ineffective in this case so remember to always keep a vacuum cleaner handy if you are eating mochi during New Years.

Comments

[Replica Christian Louboutin Shoes]

Yes, life needs gratefulness. Gratefulness is not only confined to love, but also to friendship, family bonds, mutual cherishing as well as constant missing each other!

[Jordan Hydro]

Let you gain plenty of knowledge when you are eating moon cakes.

[Yayoi Winfrey]

Wow. I just wrote about deadly mochi on my Facebook page, but I wish I had known about the vacuum cleaner hose trick.

Your blog is very entertaining.

I watched Red and White on New Year's with my Japanese mom. Jeros' mother was in the audience crying. It was very touching. I also saw the singer whom you said had a scary face. I love it when she lunges towards the camera. She's very dramatic. I really like Tendo, too. And, btw, was that the actor who played Kondo in Shinsengumi in a J-pop band?

Omedetto gozaimasu!

Your Hip Hapa,
Yayoi

http://www.watermelonsushi.com

[AzianBrewer]

A trip to memory lane. My ma used to make kirimochi when I was a young lad. oishii!

[Huang]

Isn't it interesting that the Koreans eat cakes made from either compacted rice flour or glutinous rice flour on auspicious occasions and also eat soup with rice cakes for their New Year ? The Chinese, of Shanghainese descent, eat Nian Gao, which is also a type of white rice noodle cake, which is cooked in soup or stir-fried, as part of the celebratory Lunar New Year dishes.

[Claire （クレア）]

But what happens if you have a vacuum that does not have a hose? These are popular in America...

Maybe the solution is to soften the mochi and break it into smaller pieces before giving it to obaasan or otousan, since it seems that many cases of death by omochi occur in the elderly? Or would that be rude?

Those stories remind me of the movie by Itami Juzo-san, Tampopo. In one scene, an elderly man went to a noodle shop and choked while eating his favorite dish. The hero turned him upside down to clear his throat and saved his life.

[robert]

EEEEWWW I know where my vaccum cleaner nozzle's been. I think choking is preferable. or maybe we could send a spelunking mouse down with a grappling hook..good grief..the nozzle on my vacuum cleaner is too big for my mouth (does anyone really believe that for an instant?)maybe, maybe.. I could swallow a whole pot of hot green tea..it might not melt the mochi, but at least I would get plenty of healthy antioxidant benefits. All in all, the best tact with mochi might be smaller bites. I love it. I especially like it Tokyo style..I'm quite addicted to bonito flakes... I spoon them on my rice, my udon, my oatmeal.. so smoky good..and with a nicely browned mochi, a glimpse of heaven to warm your tummy..assuming it makes the trip..small bites people.. trust me on this. I LOVED the tragi-comically word Mari!! That's some brilliant maneuvering with the Eigo. Sweet Potato! (satsuma imo?)