Hello everyone. Have you ever tried traditional Japanese mochi rice cakes? They are essential for the Japanese New Year.
For many people in the U.S., mochi is often thought of as a rice cake dessert with sweet red bean paste inside. It has been popular at Maido, and it is actually an authentic dessert in Japan. However, for Japanese people, the word mochi generally refers to rice cakes made from unsweetened glutinous rice made by pounding rice into rice cakes.
In Japan, there is a culture of eating mochi during the New Year's holiday, and Maido currently has many packages of mochi in stock for the New Year. We will make homemade mochi from December 27th until 31st as well!
We have many types of mochi in stock. Here is a blog post from last winter, if you want to get a better idea for the types of mochi we offer. The selection is pretty similar this year as well.
Every year, we carry some *kagami mochi with an animal mascot of the Chinese zodiac. Next year, 2025, is the Year of the Snake, so we currently carry a few kinds of kagami mochi with a snake mascot.
*kagami mochi is a special kind of mochi for the New Year. It usually consists of a round mochi on the bottom, another smaller round mochi on it, then an orange or some other decoration on top sometimes. Traditionally, the kagami mochi is broken and eaten on January 11th.
Taimatsu, Kagami Mochi with Snake Mascot 160 g/5.64 oz.
Made from 100% Japanese glutinous rice, these gorgeous and festive kagami mochi come with a mat and a cute snake figurine. The kind of container they use makes it easy to take out the mochi easily. The mochi is shaped as it is. Two types of snakes are available: the parent snake on the left and the child snake on the right. You can display them together to invite more luck!
Usagimochi, Kagami Mochi with Snake Mascot 66 g/2.32 oz.
A ceramic Chinese zodiac sign: snake sitting on a zabuton cushion creates a New Year's atmosphere. This interior decoration style kagami mochi can be compactly displayed at the entrance, in the kitchen, or in the bedroom. Individually wrapped round rice cakes made from 100% Japanese paddy rice glutinous rice has slits and can be broken into four pieces by hand for cooking conveniently. The special container is used to reduce bulk after kagami-biraki, an event to open the kagami mochi.
There are various ways to enjoy mochi! You can grill and eat with soy sauce, seaweed, kinako soybean flour with sugar, or put in ozoni, a traditional Japanese New Year's soup made in a light broth with vegetables and other ingredients, or put in oshiruko or zenzai sweet red bean soup. Hope you find your favorite way to enjoy for Japanese New Year!
If you would like to learn more about mochi, we would recommend you to read our old blog posts about mochi.
History of Mochi Rice Cakes
Ozoni Throughout Japan (general ozoni recipes included)
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There is a lot of food items, housewares, stationery, and gifts available at the store and our online store, Maido! Kairashi Shop, where you can place your order for shipping or store pickup! Happy shopping. :)
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