Mochi is a Japanese sweet made out of rice that is traditionally eaten for Japanese New Year.

When mochi were first invented, only the Japanese emperor was allowed to eat them. Later, mochi were eaten at weddings for good luck and a long marriage, and now they bring good luck for the New Year.

The traditional way of making mochi is hard work. One person must grind rice by hand as another one adds water to make the rice powder into a sticky mass. Then different flavors are added, and the mass is formed into little balls.

Ice cream mochi are a favorite dessert in the U.S., but traditional Japanese mochi are filled with sweet bean paste.

When most Americans think of Japanese food, they think of sushi. However, Japanese cuisine offers many different dishes. The most important aspects of Japanese cuisine are that the food is fresh, simple, and prepared with much attention to presentation. The Japanese eat with their eyes first.

Beware!
Mochi need to be chewed extra carefully! Because of the sticky texture, if mochi isn’t chewed properly or cut in small pieces before eating, people can suffocate if mochi gets stuck in their throat.

 

Japan

Japan is a country in East Asia, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. Japan consists of 6,852 islands, and its culture is thousands of years old. Although many parts of Tokyo (the capital) are very modern places and people from Japan are among the highest educated in the world, tradition plays a big role in Japan’s everyday life. Because the country is located so far east, it is often called “Land of the Rising Sun”.