One of the traditional New Years' activities in Japan is mochitsuki or mochi pounding. Mochi is a sticky dough made from a special kind of whole rice that is soaked, steamed and then pounded into a soft, sticky mass. The Yamato Ward, which is the Japanese ward that we share our church building with, does this every year in January. This past year it was in conjunction with a fundraiser for their Boy Scout troop. Church members contributed items to be sold at the yard sale and they also had other foods for sale besides the mochi. From what I was told, hand pounding the mochi is a bit of a dying art and we felt very lucky to be able to see this as well as take a turn pounding the rice. It was such a fun experience and the food was amazing!
The rice being cooked in the traditional wood burning steamer.
A couple of the Scouts who were nice enough to pose for a picture. I don't know how they weren't freezing in shorts and short-sleeves! I had on a sweater, my winter coat and boots and was still cold.
Jacob taking his turn. This is a labor intensive process that takes at least two people. One to pound with the kine or wooden mallet while the other turns the rice in between pounds.
Aaron having a go at it.
Besides the mochi, they also sold hotdogs and yakitori (skewered grilled chicken) with a sweet soy sauce glaze. YUM!!
After the mochi was finished being pounded, the women would prepare it in different ways. They'd roll it in a red bean paste, crushed sesame seeds or rolled in nori (seaweed paper).
