Japanese Cultural Institute Carnival in Gardena, CA

Japanese Cultural Institute (JCI) Carnival in Gardena, CA

My friend JustJenn and I were hanging out on Sunday and she looked at her iPhone. She said, "Oh, the JCI Carnival is this weekend."

Squeal.

That was my car and my scream. My car sprinted to Gardena to hit up the "carnival of my youth." I have so many childhood memories from this annual affair. The Japanese Cultural Institute (JCI) in Gardena (South Bay area of the Los Angeles region) has been going on forever. A few things have been added and changed, but so much of it remains exactly the same. And that's fantastic. The JCI offers Japanese language classes, senior activities, cultural classes and sport groups. 

Of course, I go for the festival foods. Chirashi sushi is my absolute favorite. It's sushi rice with a bunch of toppings. Somen salad is cold somen noodles with a dipping sauce, and the imagawayaki is a pancake filled with sweet red beans.

My peep's donut! The Okinawan Andagi or Dango is a festival favorite...just look for the long line. It is a big donut hole of goodness. I like to spend my summer visiting as many festivals as possible...all to get dangos! The Japanese American-founded Buddhist Churches in the area have annual Obon festivals and they always have dangos too. See this post for my tour of a Obon festival in 2009, and my mom's recipe for dango.

Every JA festival has a plant and vegetable section. I believe every group has a member who owns or works at a nursery. Actually, there is a long history of Japanese American gardeners and farmers in California (check out this book). My grandfather worked in the sugar cane fields of Hawaii, farmed in Central California and then became a gardener in Los Angeles. Last year, I bought a house plant at an Obon festival at a Buddhist church...and it is still alive!! I don't know if the Buddhist priest blessed it, but now I'm buying all my house plants at these carnivals!

The youth break dancing class performed too! I'm sure one of these kids will be on my favorite show, ABDC someday!

Like I said, the JCI Carnival is filled with childhood memories. All these old school carnival games. They used to have a dime toss and gave away glass cups and dishes (holy smokes, I'm sure they were filled with lead and other hazards). Anyway, I loved this game and would break my piggy bank gathering dimes. One day, my folks were at my brother's soccer game in Orange County and I stayed at home. I was doing the dishes and one of these super thin glasses broke in my hand. My neighbor was a police officer so I went over to show him my cut. Remember, I'm 40 so when I was young we had rotary phones and cell phones were only on the Jetsons. My neighbor knew someone on the force in the OC and they SENT UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICERS TO THE SOCCER GAME. Yes, they walked around the field saying, "We are looking for the parents of Mary." Holy Smokes! My mom still tells me this story and how she nearly had a heart attack right there on the field. Anyway, I got 5 or 6 stitches and still have a small scar on my finger...and great memories of the JCI Carnival. And I didn't have to do the dishes for a whole month.

I hope you are enjoying your summer visiting carnivals and festivals (and of course, participating in your library's summer reading program!!). If you are in Los Angeles and want to eat some Japanese American festival food, check out the Obon schedule!

Zunda Mochi from Sendai Japan

Zunda Mochi from the Sendai region of Japan

It has been awhile since the Japanese earthquake on March 11, 2011 and the recent tragedies in the mid-west reiterate the power of natural disasters. Japan may have fallen off the front page of the newspaper, but the people in the affected areas are in need of long-term assistance. There are still thousands of people in shelters because their homes were destroyed in the tsunami. One of the hardest hit regions is Sendai, Japan.

Last month, my friend and fellow librarian Jun taught me how to make Zunda Mochi. Jun’s family is from  Sendai and she still has many relatives there. Last year, she visited Sendai and came back with a package of Zunda Mochi which she shared with me. I was immediately smitten. I love all things mochi and the combo of slightly sweetened soybeans or edamame and mochi is a winner.

After the earthquake and updates from Jun about what her family went through, I thought about Zunda Mochi. I wanted to make Zunda Mochi as a celebration of the region's perseverance. Jun said this is a home cooked comfort food; it is sad that so many people do not have homes to return to. I hope you contribute financially to the continuing relief effort in Japan and here in the states. I've listed one way to support Japan at the end of this post.

Zunda Mochi uses very few ingredients. Really, it is just mochi (rice cakes, unsweetened) with a paste of edamame that has been slightly sweetened. Remember my family's annual mochi making day for New Year's? Well, I still have some mochi in the freezer and we cut some of those pieces. You can also find mochi in the Asian grocery store....just make sure it is plain and unsweetened.

You need to defrost the edamame (just run it in a colander under water) and remove the outer skin. Yes, one by one! This doesn't take long and if you have a friend with you, it goes by in the flash. You can squeeze them with your fingers and the inner pod just zooms out. The edamame paste freezes really well so you can make a big batch and freeze it. Jun's relatives always have some in the freezer in case a visitor stops by!


Whiz the naked (skin-off) edamame with some sugar and a bit of water in a food processor. You should get a fairly fine paste...but if you like things a bit chunky, you can leave it more chunky too. You don't want hummus...there should be a little texture.

Boil the mochi (How long depends on the type of mochi you are using. Ours only too a few minutes) and then place it on a plate with a dollop of the paste.

Like all recipes, especially comfort food, there are many variations of Zunda Mochi. The ratio of edamame to mochi pieces varies, and some pastes have more liquid. And some people cook the edamame or the paste...Jun and I didn't do that. Here is I Nom Things version. Google the recipe, find one you like and sit with a friend and shell some soybeans.

My friend (and soon-to-be mom!) Jun with the dessert of her peeps.

Buy my friend Azusa's Humble Bean Cookbook and help Japan!

One way you can help Japan is by purchasing Humble Bean’s recipe booklet. Azusa, an awesome artist and cook, has created this booklet with proceeds helping the victims in Japan. Buy it here!

Recipes include this lovely Shiitake and Bacon Pasta and...

• Quick Japanese Pickles
• Milk Misoshiru with Kabocha
• Daikon and Scallop Salad
• Pan Fried Gyoza
• Chilled Tomato Somen
• Shiitake and Bacon Pasta
• Bacon and Shiso Fried Rice
• Kuwayaki Donburi
• Sukiyaki Donburi
• Tuna and Avocado Donburi
• Matcha Pancakes

Show your support and get a great cookbook to add to your collection by purchasing Humble Bean's booklet!
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Recipe:
Zunda Mochi
Yields: 2 cups paste

One 16 ounce bag of frozen shelled edamame
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon water or more as needed
2 pinches of kosher salt

Mochi pieces

1. Remove the skin from the defrosted edamame. You should yield 14 ounces or about 2 1/2 cups of edamame.
2. Place edamame, sugar, water and salt in a food processor. Process into a paste of desired consistency.
3. Boil mochi pieces until soft. Remove and place on dish.
4. Top mochi with edamame paste.
Note: Paste freezes well.