Why we eat Mochi New Year’s Eve in Hawaii

When 2020 ends, people from all over the world will soon welcome 2021 with spectacular fireworks shows and champagne glasses.

In Hawaii, we celebrate with firecrackers (to ward off evil spirits), eating noodles (symbolizing longevity), cleaning our homes (so you don’t bring your old life to the new year), and, for some local families, chopping mochi.

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made with glutinous mochigome rice, which is chopped into a paste. Originally used as an offering during religious ceremonies in past centuries, mochi has been enjoyed as a New Year’s gift since the Heian period of Japan (794-1185).

The pocket gift arrived in Hawaii in the mid-1800s through workers on Japanese plantations, who performed the traditional mochi making ceremony, called mochitsuki, during New Year’s Eve. In mochitsuki, the mochigome is baked and glued in a wooden or stone mortar called use, until it is soft and chewy, and then molded by hand in various shapes. Mochitsuki is a laborious task that requires the help of friends and family so that the process goes smoothly. Many Japanese families and confectioners continue the mochitsuki tradition in their homes and businesses, although many choose to use a microwave recipe to save time and clean them.

SEE ALSO: The story behind the Mochi-Pounding tradition of Hawaii

Once the mochi is made, it can be prepared in a myriad of ways: for example, plain, sprinkled with kinako (soy flour), fried in a pan with soy sauce and sugar, or in ozone, Cap d soup ‘Year. The ingredients of ozone, which consist mainly of mochi, dashi (soup broth) and vegetables, represent good wishes for the New Year: good luck, peace, happiness and last but not least, a long life , represented by the stretchability of the mochi.

The mochi made for New Year’s celebrations is always white and shaped like records. Kagami mochi (mochi mirror) is an offering to the gods consisting of two mochi cakes stacked on top of each other with a Japanese orange (the leaf still glued) on top. Usually, this pile is placed on the family altar in Japanese homes or somewhere in the house to make a fortune next year.

Fortunately, you don’t have to wait until January 1 to enjoy the mochi, as it’s available year-round in Hawaii and is available at supermarkets, convenience stores, and even shaving ice shops.

SEE ALSO: Where to get the multicultural Mochi from Hawaii to Oahu

If you’re looking for traditional Hawaiian-style mochi, New Year’s Eve or not, visit the Nisshodo Candy Store (1095 Dillingham Blvd., Suite I-5, nisshodomochicandy.com).

SEE ALSO: Oahu’s Nisshodo Candy Story is the space for making handmade Japanese sweets

Nisshodo’s home for nearly 100 years has been an unpretentious warehouse in Honolulu’s commercial district of Kalihi. Enter the hole in the wall, family-run store and you’ll be greeted by a small glass display case showing mochi and manju of colors, a baked rice flour confection that looks like a pastry, perfectly stacked on parchment paper lined. trays. The three employees packed behind the counter receive orders from the seemingly endless line of customers, answer the phone, and turn off smoothly at the single cash register. Be prepared – the style here is pick up and go, no chairs or tables to wait for. If you want to make sure the mochi you want is available, we recommend that you arrive at the store early in the day or place your order in advance by phone or email.

Although Nisshodo uses traditional azuki (red bean paste) and lime bean paste fillings in many of its confections, you won’t find flavors like lilikoi (passion fruit) or peanut butter outside of Hawaii. Undoubtedly, the store’s most popular seller is chichi dango, a white or pink sweet milk mochi that is not well known in Japan.

Grandfather Asataro Hirao, the former owner of the third generation, Mike Hirao, learned how to make chichi dango from a local candy maker in Hiroshima after World War II, who used milk donations in dust pouring into the war-torn country to make a delight that everyone could. to enjoy. Hirao perfected his own recipe after returning to Hawaii, incorporating local ingredients into the process. Powdered milk remains a vital ingredient in the 6,000 pieces of chichi dango that are prepared daily at home. The peak seasons of chichi dango are Christmas and New Year, as well as in the days before March 3, when production triples. March 3 is Hinamatsuri, or Girls’ Day, originally a Japanese celebration of women of all ages.

Mochi is an economic delight with a rich history that has stood the test of time in the Islands. If you haven’t yet adopted the New Year’s resolution, “Eating mochi” is not a bad motto for 2021.