Heaven with Mochi (PART 1 OF 3)
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Sticky New Year's Treat
Turns Deadly in Japan
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At least nine people have reportedly choked to death on New Year's rice cakes in Japan, and officials are urging people to chew slowly on the treats.
Sticky rice cakes or "mochi" are an essential part of the Japanese New Year's menu.
But the glutinous mochi, grilled or cooked in broth or with sweet beans, can get stuck in people's throats.
The Yomiuri newspaper reported Friday that at least 128 people were rushed to hospitals after choking on mochi, with nine dying.
The Tokyo Fire Department said Monday that 18 people were taken to city hospitals during the first three days of the year and three males died.
The department advised people to cut mochi in small pieces, chew slowly and learn first aid.
In addition to the Tokyo deaths, three people died in Chiba prefecture, while one each died in Osaka, Aomori and Nagasaki prefectures, the newspaper reported.
In the Nagasaki case, an 80-year-old man choked on a mochi that was in sweet bean soup served for free at a Shinto shrine.
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Japanese customarily visit shrines and temples to welcome the new year, and mochi, sake and other treats are sold or given out.
【The Associated Press】
(Photos from Denman Library)
Page 9 "Metro News of Vancouver"
metronews.ca
Tuesday, Janauary 6, 2015
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Kato, I wonder if any of your family in your hometown of Japan has ever chocked to death.
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Oh no, nobody! As far as I know, none of my family have ever choked on mochi before because all the members have been quite slow in eating mochi. Slow-eating is one of my family traits, I suppose.
I'm glad to hear that. By the way, Kato, did you eat some mochi on the New Year's Day?
Yes, I did. To tell you the truth, I ate four pieces of mochi for the first time in 30 years.
Why is that?
Well... As you know, Mayumi's dream has come true and now she is in Vancouver. So Mayumi and I celebrated her new life in Vancouver while eating mochi on the New Year's Day.
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How did you eat mochi?
Actually, I wrote about it the other day.
How to make Zenzai or
"mochi in sweet red-bean soup"
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Zenzai hasn't changed a bit for long, and it is a staple snack of cold season.
In good old days, Zenzai used to wait for you to be eaten on the stove in your living room while you were preoccupied with other things.
But it doesn't seem to go quite so these days.
If you ever want to make Zenzai over the gas stove, you might just as well make a delicious Zenzai.
Boil and make the red beans completely soft.
After throwing out the water, you add 250 ml of water and 200 grams of suger to make a delicious Zenzai
I'll teach you how to boil the red beans and make a Zenzai with an elegant sweetness.
【Ingredients of Zenzai】
• red beans ... 250g
• sugar ... 200g
• water added at the last sweetening process ... 250ml
• a pinch of salt
1) Selection of red beans
for making delicious Zenzai
The basics of make Zenzai
① Tannins or bitterness can be removed by boiling twice.
When this is done, you boil it for the third time and cook for an hour.
② After throwing out the water, you add 250 ml of water and 200 grams of suger and then boil it.
NOTE: Before the removal of tannins, take a close look at the red beans placed in a pot.
When you find discolored red beans, please remove them.
2) Removal of tannins or astringency
Wash red beans in a pot, and add one litre of water.
Then put it on fire.
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Note: 1) The red beans do not need to be in water before boiling.
It is okay to place the pot on fire as soon as the beans and water come together in the pot.
2) In the first removal of tannins, add a plenty of water, instead of a little bit of water.
Once it boils, throw out the water and then add a plenty of water for the second boiling.
Even after the second boiling, the red beans are still hard.
The red beans become tender in the next step.
3) The basics of boiling red beans
Once it boils for the third time, don't discard the water.
You cook the red beans until they become tender.
You cook them in low heat for at least an hour.
NOTE: 1) While being cooked, the water gets less.
Please add some water so that the red beans always remain under water.
In about an hour, the red beans will become tender so that you could feel the softness with your fingers.
However, if the red beans are fresh, you could make them tender in less than one hour.
Please cook them carefully while checking the softness.
As the red beans become soft, proceed to the next step.
When I made the Zenzai using the fresh red beans, they became soft in about 40 minutes.
4) How to make it sweet
Place the sodtened red beans in a pot with 250 ml of water and 200 grams of suger as well as a pinch of salt.
The amount of water at this time is 250 ml---no more, no less.
Once it boils, you cook them about 10 minutes in low heat.
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Bake enough pieces of mochi in a toaster or an oven.
Serve a bowl of sweet red-bean soup with two pieces of mochi.
Source: "Zenzai@Overseas" （お汁粉@海外）
The Original in Japanese
(Photos from Denman library)
(To be followed)