Mitarashi Dango (みたらし団子) is one of Japan’s classic traditional mochi sweets. Small, round mochi balls are skewered on bamboo sticks and glazed with a thick and glossy sweet-and-salty brown sauce made from soy sauce and sugar. This simple treat is satisfying without being overly sweet, making it a perfect afternoon snack—especially when paired with a…
Abekawa Mochi is a famous regional food of Shizuoka prefecture, west of Tokyo. It is freshly cooked Mochi coated with Kinako soybean powder and sugar. This simple Mochi dessert is popular in the area of course and everywhere in Japan. Abekawa Mochi is found in Wagashi Japanese sweet shops and supermarkets, but it is quite…
Fruit Daifuku is a Japanes Mochi dessert, Fruit, like strawberry, is wrapped in Anko sweet bean paste, then in Mochi rice cake. Fruit Daifuku is not a very traditional sweet, but it’s been around for a few decades now, and it is one of the most popular items at Wagashi Japanese sweet shops.
Have you ever bought Mochi rice cakes for a New Years feast and had too many leftovers? A lot of packaged Mochi today lasts a very long time, but you still may want to use it up in a reasonable amount of time. There are a lot of creative Mochi “recycling” recipes out there, but…
Daifuku Mochi is rice cake with Anko, sweet red bean paste, inside. Daifuku Mochi is one of the most traditional but very popular Japanese sweets. It was first made almost 700 years ago, but not as a sweet dessert. Then, sugar was rare, but Daifuku became more like today’s when sugar was more readily available to…
Mochi is rice cake that is made from pounded rice. It is very glutinous and sticky when cooked. Mochi doesn’t have very much flavor by itself other than a rice taste. It is often eaten during the new year holidays as people get lots of Mochi for the dish Ozoni. However, Ozoni is not the only way to eat…
Ozoni (お雑煮) is a special soup with Mochi (rice cake) in it that you eat in the morning on New Year’s Day in Japan. We decorate the house with Mochi to dedicate to the New Year, and eat it to celebrate and hope for a good year. We have a big meal called Osechi along…