Since I have been interested in the Japanese culture, food has been the biggest influence on me. I discovered mochi while watching foodie videos on YouTube and was confused why this food was considered so good and tasty. It looked like a ball of gooey, sticky mess. It surely wasn’t appealing to this picky eater, but I appreciate culture, and I thought this was just another weird, culturally bizarre food.
Then I went to the grocery store “Aldi” and found they offered mochi ice cream balls. I was excited and had to try this weird food combined with one of my favorites, ice cream. The flavors they had were ripe strawberry, and green tea, so I got one of each.
These mochi ice cream balls sat in my freezer a few days before I attempted to try this unusual snack.
I opened the package and the mochi balls are covered in corn starch to help avoid the gummy, stickiness. I’ve had strawberry and Green tea ice cream before but not the mochi outer coating. I took a bite and was truly surprised by how simple this was. The mochi was soft and gooey, but not at all unpleasant as I had anticipated. Next was the element of ice cream mixing with the mochi, it was so good. Then I had to try the strawberry flavor and realized that the mochi was also flavored. This experience was very satisfying, but I’d like to try mochi in a more traditional form.
Mochi is part of Japanese history and deeply woven into their culture. This food is very important spiritually and ceremonially. Mochi is considered soul food, literally. Mochi isn’t just food, it’s home to inadama, the soul or spirit that dwells within rice.
The word mochi is derived from the word “motsu” which means to have and hold. The samurai used mochi as a source of nutrients when traveling distances into battle. The light weight allowed them to travel longer distances without having to carry heavy food items.
Mochitsuki is a New Years tradition celebrated since the Heian period (794-1185). This tradition of making mochi is celebrated by families or even whole communities. The pounding of the soaked rice is an all day event involving entertaining performances and the participation of everyone. The belief is that the eating of the mochi while celebrating the new year will strengthen teeth and bones and bring wealth.
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