# Kamamochi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Kamamochi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
All of Iwate Prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Wheat flour, brown sugar, miso, walnuts

## History, Origin, and Related Events
In Iwate Prefecture, where the climate is cold and unsuitable for rice farming, different types of millets such as wheat, buckwheat and foxtail millet are grown. Due to this, many types of traditional dishes using wheat flour and millet flour were born. “Kamamochi” is one of such dishes.“Kamamochi” is made by creating a sweet paste using miso, brown sugar and walnuts and wrapping the paste in a flour dough. The “mochi” (=sticky cake) is shaped to look like half-moons. “Kamamochi” can be made using staple ingredients and so this dish has been enjoyed by many over a long period of time.It is said that the name of the dish comes from the Japanese word “kama” (=sickle), which is a tool for cutting grass and has a semicircular blade resembling a half-moon or the word “kamasu” (=bag made of woven straw), which are similar in shape to the “Kamamochi”. The dish has a different name in different regions and in the northern and central parts of Iwate Prefecture, it is called “Kamamochi” or “Kamayaki”. In the southern parts, the dish is referred to as “Ni-agemochi”. In the northern coastal region, it is called “Hyuzu”, and in the southern coastal region, it is called “Kamadango”. The name “Hyuzu” is said to come from the dumpling’s resemblance to the shape of a flint.“Kamamochi” is served during short breaks from farming as a snack and is enjoyed by people of all ages. During times when sugar was considered a delicacy, sugar was omitted from the recipe.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
This dish is served as a snack during short breaks from farming, at gatherings and as a daily snack. In Nakasato (formerly Niisato) of Kariya, Miyako, “Hana-hyuzu” where the “mochi” (=sticky cake) is shaped to have folded edges that resemble flower petals, is served during the Bon holidays and New Year celebrations. On these occasions, the dish is served with “Amazake” (=sweet, fermented rice drink).

## How to Eat
Pour hot water onto the wheat flour, knead, and then flatten. Place the sweet paste of brown sugar, miso, and walnuts onto the dough. Fold the dough in half to enclose the paste. Boil the dumplings in hot water. With leftover dumplings, you can bake them on a stove and still enjoy them. Instead of miso paste, it is also possible to use sesame seed paste or toasted soybean flour paste.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches to commercialization)“Kamamochi” is a popular traditional dish as it is easy to make at home. They are frequently sold at farm stands. Students also learn how to make it as part of their home economics classes. In Iwate Prefecture, people and organizations that play a significant role in carrying on local traditional cuisine are recognized as "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisans". There are artisans specializing in the making of “Kamamochi”.

## Ingredients
- [Dough]: 
- Wheat flour: 320g
- Glutinous rice flour: 80g
- Salt: 3g
- Boiling water: 320ml
- [Filling]: 
- Brown sugar: 50g
- Miso: 20g
- Walnuts: 40g
- Ground sesame seeds (white): 1／2 tsp.
- [Dusting flour]: 
- Wheat flour: As needed

## Recipe
1. 1. Finely chop the walnuts into 2 to 3mm pieces.
2. 2. Place the brown sugar and miso in a bowl and mix while crushing with a pestle.
3. 3. Mix the walnuts and ground sesame seeds together with the miso and brown sugar mixture from step 2.
4. 4. Divide the mixture from step 3 into 12 equal parts, roll them into a ball shape using your hands, then slightly flatten them.
5. 5. Mix together the wheat flour, glutinous rice flour, and salt, then sift.
6. 6. Place the mixture from step 5 into a bowl and add boiling water. Mix together using chopsticks. Thoroughly knead until there are no lumps, and the surface of the dough is smooth. The dough should be as firm as an earlobe.
7. 7. Divide the dough from step 6 into 12 equal parts, then roll each piece into a ball.
8. 8. Press the dough from step 7 with the bottom of a round cup to flatten it out, place the mixture from step 4 on top of the dough, then fold in half to create a half-moon shape. Seal tightly so that the filling does not come out from the edges (you can seal it by coating it with flour mixed with water).
9. 9. Boil the pieces from step 8 in a pot of boiling water. When they float up to the top, remove with a slotted spoon, rinse with cold water, then place on a damp cloth to dry slightly.

## Provider Information
provider : Mikiko Sato, "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisan"

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