# Ochamochi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Ochamochi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Morioka City and the central region of the prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
rice flour, walnuts, soy sauce, and mirin

## History, Origin, and Related Events
The central area of the prefecture, which is located along the Kitakami River basin, has an abundance of flat land. Paddy fields have been established since ancient times, and the scale of rice production was relatively large. However, there were years when rice could not be harvested due to cold damage, so barley, wheat, and buckwheat were also produced to stabilize the diet, and it is said that the culture of turning rice and these other grains into flour was developed then."Ochamochi" is a mochi confectionery made by skewering two or three dango made from rice flour, crushing them thinly, seasoning them with walnut sauce (soy sauce or miso flavor), and grilling them. In the past, both sides were roasted in the hearth until brown and it was eaten while still hot. It has long been loved by the locals as a lunchtime snack for farmers and as a snack for children. The origin of its name is said to have been a corruption of the term “uchiwamochi” because its shape resembles a military fan.Additionally, in Morioka City, mochi sweets made by kneading rice flour while adding water are generally called “benjemono.” During the Edo period, the Kitakami River flowing through the center of Morioka was the heart of water transportation, and the ships that carried goods from the capital up the Kitakami River were called “benzai ships.” The extravagant goods brought from the upper region by the “benzai ships” were called “benzaimono,” which became “benjemono” in the Morioka dialect, and is still used as the name for mochi sweets.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
It was eaten as a snack for children during small lunch breaks during farm work, during "Obon holidays", and during equinoxes. Today, everyone from children to adults still eats it on a daily basis as snacks or small souvenirs.

## How to Eat
Add hot water to non-glutinous rice flour, knead it, and roll it out into flat dango. Skewer two or three dango, steam, dip in walnut sauce, and grill. There are soy sauce-flavored walnut sauce and miso-flavored walnut sauce. You can freeze it before dipping it in walnut sauce. In Iwate Prefecture, walnuts are deeply ingrained in the diet and are so special to the people of the prefecture that they sometimes use the expression “kurumi-aji (walnut flavor)” to refer to a “delicious flavor.” Ochamochi is a sweet that you can enjoy with its simple flavor of walnuts and soy sauce.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)Although it is now rarely made at home, it is sold at Japanese confectionery stores and is a popular snack. Iwate Prefecture certifies people and groups that pass on local cuisine as “Iwate Prefecture Food Artisans,” and there are also “Iwate Prefecture Food Artisans” for ochamochi. In Morioka City, traditional activities are being carried out by “Iwate Prefecture Food Artisans” such as food education projects.

## Ingredients
- rice flour: 400g
- Hot water: 500ml
- Disposable chopsticks: 5 pairs
- [Walnut sauce] Walnuts: 60g
- [Walnut sauce] Sugar: 6 tbsp.
- [Walnut sauce] Soy sauce: 50ml

## Recipe
1. 1. Put the rice flour in a pot and heat over medium heat, stirring with a spatula, until it reaches the same temperature as human skin.
2. 2. Transfer the rice flour to a bowl, add boiling water little by little, and stir with chopsticks. Once the dough has formed into large and small lumps, dust your hands with flour and knead the dough with your palms until it is as hard as an earlobe.
3. 3. Divide the dough into several parts, fan them, and once they have cooled, put them all together and knead them again (for 10 minutes).
4. 4. Divide the dough into 30 small dango, about the size of ping pong balls, and then skewer three dumplings from the thin end with a disposable chopstick that you have previously split from the other half of the pair. Make sure the tip of the disposable chopstick does not stick out from the top dango.
5. 5. On a floured cutting board, flatten the dango by crushing them with your palms. Press both sides to make them thinner, but be careful not to make the parts where the chopstick is too thin or they will break later.
6. 6. In a steamer with steam rising, lay down a wet cloth or parchment paper, arrange 5 without overlapping each other, and steam for about 8 minutes.
7. 7. While steaming, grind the walnuts in a mortar, add some sugar and soy sauce, and mix to make the walnut sauce. The texture of the walnuts will be better if you keep it slightly grainy.
8. 8. Once 6 is steamed, place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper to prevent them from sticking, and cover them with plastic wrap to prevent them from drying out.
9. 9. Roast 8 over charcoal or gas until browned on both sides, then spread the walnut sauce on both sides. It will taste a little too salty right after it's done, but the flavor will get better as time passes.

## Provider Information
provider : "Iwate Prefecture Food Artisan" (Ruriko Hachiman)

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