Mochi Mochi Mochi - Mochitsuki 2011

It's that time again! My family and friends got together on December 26th for our annual mochi making day!

These unsweetened rice cakes are eaten on New Year's Day in a special soup called ozoni to bring about good fortune and health and all that jazz. Our family has been getting together since 1955 to make mochi. We have two electric machines and a bunch of gas steamers to cook the special Koda Farms Sho-Chiku-Bai sweet rice (old school method is with a pound it by hand with a mallet.)

I think this year was a record - 190 pounds of rice! That took about three hours alone just to wash and soak on Christmas day (thanks Mom for doing that!)

Rice is steamed in steamers then poured into the machine. It comes out piping hot! Little bits are cut off and shaped into rounds. They are cooled on racks and then dusted with mochiko (rice flour).

All hands on deck for mochi making! Often, this is the one time a year we see some of our aunts, uncles, cousins and their growing children so it is a very important tradition for my family. And, of course, we have a bouncy house...just like our ancestors had I'm sure...

Um, we had two food tables and one salad table...making mochi definitely stirs the appetite!

Yum! Yum! Yum!

And this year lots of my friends dropped by!

We can't forget the desserts too! My auntie made this delicious cookie tray, JustJenn brought delicious and cute cupcakes and my cousin made these fried cookies.

Days later, my cousin and I are still cleaning the house and putting back things (we need to clear out three rooms of the house for mochi day). Of course, the benefit is that I'm eating fresh toasted mochi every day!

Looking forward to joining JustJenn's family for her annual New Year's feast...featuring our mochi for the ozoni soup! :)

Happy New Year everyone! 2012 is going to ROCK! - mary the food librarian

Other mochi-related posts: 2010, 2008, 2007 family event, sweet mochi with red beans, zunda mochi from sendai, blueberry mochi cake.

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.