12.04.2014

Mochi? お餅の販売をします。

Many Japanese words are known in the world.  For instance, Sushi, Karaoke, Kaizen and so on.   Mochi is one of them, I think.   Mochi is Rice cake.   We imagine cake means sweet and most foreign customers ask us 'Mochi' which means as a sweet.   However, most Japanese may consider 'Mochi' is one of  staple food so that the mochi on above picture reminds us as Mochi.  To distinguish sweets and prevent the mistakes, we call different names for each sweets.   Of course, Mochi and Japanese sweets are made from most of the common ingredients and both of mochi could be bought at the Japanese sweets' shops in Japan.  
As for mochi like the above picture, we consider as stable food like Rice.   Mochi is usually eaten at the new year season and make mochi before and after new year.  Above mochi is able to be preserved and we eat during new year holidays at ease.   We eat them with soy sauce, sometimes with Miso, Sugar, Natto (fermented soy beans), soy bean powders, daikon radish or etc..   
スリランカにいても、毎年、お餅をついています。何故でしょう?やはり、つきたてのお餅が食べたくなるものなんですね。今年も、年末にお餅をついて、販売いたします。ご希望の方は、遠慮なくお問い合わせくださいね。
さて、この「もち」と言う言葉。カラオケ、すし、改善などと同様、その呼称がそのまま外国の方にも通じるようになってきたようです。「もち」と言えば、日本人の多くの方は、上のような切り餅や丸もちを思い浮かべると思いますが、外国人の方たちは、大福などの甘いお餅を「Mochi」と呼んでいるような気がします。よく、お店でもお客様に、「お餅ありますか?」と尋ねられますが、その時の「もち」は、「大福」をさしているからです。私たちは、なんとなくですが、甘い大福や白玉などとお餅をわけますよね?「もち」を直訳すると「Rice cake」なので、ケーキが甘いものを連想させるのかもしれません。



Mochi is wide.
We use for New Year decoration and celebrate.    This is the one we made last year.  When we make Mochi with Japanese herbs, its color becomes green.   Sometimes we add beans.   Ocasionally we make pink clour mochi for celebration.  We eat mochi as stable food and desserts.   Mochi is a preserved food.  Mochi is wide.
お餅もこうして考えてみると、色々な種類があって、とても面白いです。主食として食べますし、和菓子としても食べますし、お祝いの席や、お正月には欠かせないものでもあります。よもぎ餅もありますし、色の着いた紅白餅もあります。保存食として、長く置ける食べ物でもありますし、奥が深いです。

5 comments:

Slypan said...

My mother's home makes maru-mochi(round-shaped rice cake), while my father's home makes kiri-mothi(rectangle rice cake). Zohni happens to be cooked in same manner, boiled and put in soup stock for soba noodle.

Cafe Japan 0777-263564 / 0777-263565 20/23, Fife Road, Colombo 5 said...

Hi Slypan. Then which mochi will you have in the new year? The round shape Mochi is familiar with us though the rectangular shape Mochi maybe more popular as we see them at the supermarket anytime.

Slypan said...

My mother sends me round shape Mochi in December while we buy rectangular Mochi at the supermarket nearby after consuming such Mochi sent from my mother.

Unknown said...

Do you serve mochi in the dessert menu?

Cafe Japan 0777-263564 / 0777-263565 20/23, Fife Road, Colombo 5 said...

Hi! Thank you for your inquiry!
We have always Daifuku mochi (soft mochi stuffed with red bean jam) as the dessert though the number is limited. You may better place an order when you make your food order. Or we change the dessert menu of Japanese dessert so that you can feel free to ask us!
For take away to your home, you can buy them Rs.200/pc only order one day in advance.
We are looking forward to meeting you!