How to make rice cake (MOCHI-TUKI)
In my home in Gumma, eve now we make rice cake by mallet.
Now, there is only my home using mallet in my hometown village.
The rice for rice cake and for Sushi is different kind of rice.
Normal rice is called URUCHI MAI, Rice for cake is called MOCHI GOME.
Rice for Sushi and usually eating is boiling, Rice for rice cake is steaming.
Gas range is not enough for seaming rice. It need much firewood and cooking stove.
But, there are few house has cooking stove and enough firewood in Japan now.
Because my father is carpenter, we can get firewood easily.
And my home is farmhouse so we can use cooking stove in garden.
Most reason of everyone don't make rice cake by mallet, it is very hard work.
Now, everyone can buy rice cake in the store cheaply. so many people buy in the store.
In my home, making rice cake is event of end of year.
I return to Gumma and grip the mallet. I and my father usually pound in a mortar five times or more.
We are also pounding for relations. One mortar is 3.6 litter.
How to pound steamed rice in a mortar to rice cake.
Before day of pounding day, steep rice in water.
This black ball is boiling beans with sweet taste. It is called ANKO, bean jam.
bean jam wrapping by rice cake is called DAIFKU.
Steaming rice in basket (for food steaming) on cooking stove. In my home, we put crasher bowl on steaming basket. crasher bowl is Japanese traditional bowl using for crashing sesame or other.
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In the first, crash and knead rice for joint each rice grain. This is very important process. If this process is not enough, when I down mallet to mortar in next process, rice grain separate and it don't become rice cake shape. I must crash and knead enough. But I spend long time for this process, temperature of rice become low and it don't become rice cake shape too. Powerful and quickly action is important.
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After rice grain jointed each other enough, I up mallet and down to mortar. Pounding impact is very heavy and hard. I can't open my hand after pounding. |
This picture's action is TE-AWASE, TE is hand, AWASE is tuning of 2 person's action.
TE-AWASE is last process of pounding steamed rice. We must pull out rice cake out of mortar, but only pounding its shape is flat, so to pick up is difficult
For easy pick up, I fold periphery of flat rice cake to center and stamp at center by mallet. The periphery and center are jointed. One person stamps center by mallet and more one person fold periphery to center. 2 person shout each person's timing. (many people usually see only this process on movies) Rice cake shape become ball shape after all periphery joint to center. And then pick up rice cake ball to out of mortar.
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My two little sisters and my wife (from left person). now they are wrapping bean jam by rice cake and making DAIFUKU.
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Rolling out on board and cut to small piece. In east of Japan cut to square shape, In west of Japan tear to small round piece. My hometown Gumma is east Japan so it is square, my wife's hometown is west Japan so it is round.
While rice cake is hot, she must roll out quickly. Osaka is also west Japan so rice cake is round shape.