# Ibara Mochi ｜ Our Regional Cuisines

**Cuisine Name**: Ibara Mochi

**Region**: Our Regional Cuisines

## Main Lore Areas
Entire prefecture

## Main Ingredients Used
Top-grade non-glutinous rice flour, sugar, greenbriar leaves

## History, Origin, and Related Events
“Ibara mochi” is a rice cake wrapped in greenbriar leaves. “Ibara mochi,” which was eaten during the May Festival, has different names depending on the region. In Tsu City it’s called “ibara mochi,” but in the eastern Kishu region it’s called “osasuri.” In the Chunansei region around Ano Town it’s “ibara manju,” while in Takenari in the Hokusei region it’s “gandachi mochi,” and finally in Kameyama City it’s called “dokkan mochi/doukan-mochi.” It’s said that dokkan mochi is named after a person named “Doukan” who made mochi wrapped in greenbriar leaves in celebration of Noagari, and gifted them to the villagers to their great delight. The villagers then followed suit and made similar mochi. In the Iga region, it’s called “ibara dango.” Note that Noagari is a celebration of the end of farm work such as rice planting. It’s also called “noagari manju,” named after this event. In addition to the May festival, it’s eaten as a snack between farm work, and it’s a custom to eat it together with people who helped with farm work at the Noagari event to thank them for their hard work.In other prefectures, kashiwa mochi is one of the steamed sweets made by wrapping a rice cake with red bean paste in leaves. Kashiwa mochi uses kashiwa leaves, but the greenbriar leaves used for ibara mochi are round and have a smooth surface, so they are perfect for wrapping mochi rice cakes. It’s also said that since Kashiwa leaves are scarce in western Japan, greenbriar leaves were used as a substitute for kashiwa mochi rice cake leaves.

## Opportunities and Times of Eating Habits
Although it’s most often eaten during events such as the May Festival and Noagari (a celebration of the completion of farm work such as rice planting and harvesting), it’s also eaten as an everyday snack. Greenbriar leaves appear from spring to autumn and wither in winter, but nowadays they can be frozen.

## How to Eat
Add boiling water to a mixture of non-glutinous rice flour and sugar and knead until it’s no longer powdery. Divide into appropriate sizes and roll them out into circles with a diameter of about 8cm. Wrap the bean paste in the mochi rice cakes, fold in half, seal tightly, wrap in greenbriar leaves and finally, steam. In the spring when the greenbriar leaves are small, use two leaves to sandwich the top and bottom. When the leaves grow big in autumn, fold a leaf in two and use it to sandwich the rice cake.In the eastern Kishu region many households use non-glutinous rice flour, but in the Chunansei and Hokusei regions most households use wheat flour.

## Efforts for Preservation and Succession
(Outline of the traditions, the preservation society, social media use, modern approaches at commercialization)It’s made at home or in the local community and passed down from generation to generation. It’s also provided in school lunches. You can easily eat it because it can be purchased at supermarkets and Japanese confectionery shops.

## Ingredients
- rice flour (top-grade non-glutinous): 250g
- sugar: 50g
- boiling water: 1 cup
- bean paste (coarse or strained bean paste): 300g
- greenbriar leaves (20 if they’re small): 10

## Recipe
1. 1. Put the non-glutinous rice flour and sugar in a bowl, mix, pour in the boiling water, and stir roughly with a thick chopstick. When it becomes cool enough to touch with your hands, knead it well until it’s no longer powdery.
2. 2. Divide this dough into 10 equal pieces and roll it out into circles with a diameter of about 8cm. Put about 30g of bean paste that’s been rolled into a ball inside, fold the dough in half, and seal tightly. (If the leaves are small, make the rice cake round and sandwich it between two greenbriar leaves, one on top and one on bottom.)
3. 3. Put the cakes from Step 2 in a row in a steaming steamer and steam over high heat. When the leaf color turns yellowish-brown, it’s steamed enough.

## Provider Information
provider : provider : Recipe provided by: “Mie no Aji Sensai Mansai” （Mie Food Culture Research Society）

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