New Year Family Ritual: Making Mochi

We made mochi last night at my sister's place. Basic summary of the mechanics, or at least how we do it in our family:

1. Pour a box of rice flour into a bowl.

2. Gradually add a trickle of warm water at the same time as stirring the mixture. Helps to have an extra person to assist.

3. Continue to add the warm water until the texture of the dough resembles that of bread dough.

4. Make balls of dough and spread on wax paper. Flatten into small patties.

5. Dump the patties into a pot of boiling water, gently prodding with a wooden spoon to keep the dough from sticking to the bottom of the pot. We put in about 7 or 8 at a time.

6. When the patties start to rise, carefully lift them out with a slotted spoon and put in a heavy bowl.

7. Mix the patties into a heavier dough. In Japan, this is traditionally done by pounding with a heavy wooden mallet. My grandfather used to do something similar, I think, but then switched to using an electric drill with a long bit.

We still have the wooden cutting board that my grandfather modified for this purpose, with a hole drilled in its center for the bit to fit through. The blade is one intended to mix paint, but Grandpa found it perfect for mochi-mixing instead.

I remember how my brother, sister and I had our own roles as children, clustering around Grandpa as he did the drilling/mixing, holding onto the wooden board as it shuddered and swayed, to keep it in place.

Every year around the beginning of the year, my family still tries to get together for our annual mochi-making ritual. My father has taken Grandpa's place as the one who oversees the operation, helping and instructing when needed, reminding us of the details we've forgotten. 

For me, the ritual is wrapped in layers of memory and voices from the past that are no longer with us. The voices are joyous, full of laughter. And although I do love eating mochi, I also know that much of my enjoyment is inextricably bound with these childhood memories.

Jeff compares eating mochi with eating wallpaper paste. :-D  Still, he helps us make the mochi and even eats a bit of it from time to time, perhaps to test whether it's still as unappealing as he remembers but also because he knows it's about much more than just mochi.

Here's my favourite way of eating freshly-made mochi, as learned from my grandparents: still warm, sprinkled with sugar and soy sauce:

 Yum.

You can read an older Blathering I wrote in 2007 about mochi-making, with other photos.