# Hoshi Mochi(Dried rice cake) ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Hoshi Mochi(Dried rice cake)

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Tsugaru Region

## Main Ingredients Used
sticky rice, Sugar

## History, Origin, and Related Events
It has long been a preserved food made during the extremely cold season to take advantage of the cold and humid climate. It is also called “Korimochi”, and made in the Tsugaru region, especially famous in Goshogawara City. In the past, frozen rice cakes that looked like a curtain hung from the eaves of houses were a midwinter tradition. The rice cakes are made by adding more water than usual, cutting them, tying them into long strips of straw. Then, dipping them in water on a cold day, hanging them outdoors to freeze, and finally air-drying them. The whole process takes about two months and is very time-consuming. In the old days, the entire community worked together to make them, and they taste best when made in February, the coldest month of the year.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Because it was easy to store and rich in nutrition, it was a valuable snack to be eaten in the fields during the busy farming season from spring to summer. It was also popular as a snack for children because it was easy to eat and had a hint of sweetness. The best dried rice cakes can be easily broken by hand, and have a unique crispy texture and crumble in the mouth.

## How to Eat
In the old days, each household had a "dried rice cake master" who was in charge of making them at the right time, and keeping an eye on the weather. Variations of dried rice cakes are sometimes made by adding ingredients such as sesame, roasted soybeans, green shiso, pumpkin, walnuts, red ginger, and peanuts. They can be colored. They are eaten as is, or lightly roasted so a hint of sweetness of the rice can be tasted. They are also delicious with brown butter or butter with soy sauce, or deep-fried.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches to commercialization)Today, the opportunity to make dried rice cakes at home is decreasing due to the harshness of the work in the extreme cold. Also the fact is that logistics have become more convenient and preservative food is less necessary during the winter months. Nowadays, some farmers and families who carry on the tradition continue to produce dried rice cakes, and confectionary makers also produce them as souvenirs. The tradition is now being sought to be passed on so as not to extinguish it.

## Ingredients
- Sticky rice: 4.5 kg (=3 sho)
- Sugar: 300g
- Salt: 20g
- Water: 1440ml
- Sesame seeds: 1 small plateful

## Recipe
1. 1. Wash sticky rice and soak in water for a day and night.
2. 2. Drain off the water and steam the rice in a steaming basket.
3. 3. After steaming, put the rice into a rice-cake pounding machine to make rice cakes. Add salt. And add water several times along the way.
4. 4. After the rice has been thoroughly pounded, gradually add sesame and sugar to the rice and pound more thoroughly.
5. 5. Place a plastic sheet into a box and pour the rice cake mix in. Cover the surface with plastic.
6. 6. On the second day after pounding, remove the plastic and turn upside down.
7. 7. On the third day, cut the rice cake into pieces (10cm×6cm).
8. 8. At night, when the weather is coldest, tie the cut rice cakes into a braid. Tie 7 pieces of rice cake into a single strand. Then, tie it together with another strand to make a single set.
9. 9. After tying the rice cakes, put them in a box and fill the box with lukewarm water of about 35 degrees Celsius. Leave until the rice cakes are soft to the touch.(Leave for about 2 hours without changing the water).
10. 10. Remove the rice cakes from the box, hang them on a pole, and leave them outside in the cold air.(When you take out the rice cakes while they are still soft and expose them to the cold air, they will harden. In the morning, the rice cakes will be completely white.)
11. 11. In the cold evening, soak the rice cakes in warm water (about 40 degrees Celsius) and hang them on a pole to dry again. If too many rice cakes are placed in the warm water at once, they will stick together and the water temperature will drop rapidly. Be careful not to soak the rice cakes in the warm water for too long, or they will become too soft.
12. 12. Dry the rice cakes for at least one month.
13. 13.  The best place to dry is where there is a slight breeze. If the breeze is too strong, the rice cakes will crack. Dried rice cakes should be made around the time of the coldest day in winter.

## Provider Information
provider : "Guidebook for the transmission of food culture" (Aomori Prefecture)

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