Making Mochi

Eating (too much) is an integral part of the new year celebration in Japan.

A staple of new year fare here is mochi (お餅), which is basically mashed-up sticky rice.

In times gone by, everyone made their own mochi by steaming and pounding the rice themselves. In our modern, civilised existence, most people just buy mochi pre-prepared.

Store-bought mochi can still be delicious and filling, but it's even better hand-made, as I learned a few days ago when I had a chance to participate in a mochi-making party (餅つき) for the first time.

Below is a short video:

Making Mochi from Tony Wu on Vimeo.

In case you're interested, l took all the footage with a Canon EOS 7D.

...time to eat again.