On January 15th we held our annual Mochitsuki Celebration. Some students were baffled when they first saw the mortar and pestle, but with the teachers? guidance everyone was able to maneuver the equipment and try their hand at pounding out mochi.
There are various ways to eat the finished mochi: dusted with kinako or anko (red bean paste), covered with grated daikon (radish), or even in soup. The most popular was the handmade daifuku (mochi wrapped around red bean paste) that Teacher M made. Perhaps you always think that your own mochi tastes better, but the truth is everything was so good that it was all eaten in the blink of an eye!
However, before it was gone, we did share the mochi with our neighbors as we do every year. They were extremely appreciative, thanking us profusely and saying how good the mochi looked this year.
Let?s continue to learn about and try Japanese traditions together. We?re looking forward to next month, when we will eat Japanese candy while studying about the Hina Matsuri.