Mochi

I walked into the gymnasium at my yochien today to a bunch of chairs set up around a large wooden barrel with two huge mallets beside it. Normally I would have assumed something morbidly weird was going on, but this is Japan. Seeing my confusion, the principal explained that it was homemade mochi day. Mochi is a really sticky version of rice that is eaten everywhere over here. You can roll it in sesame seeds or red beans, grill it, or eat it on a stick. It is in fact awesome.
Later on, we proceeded to put lots of rice in the barrel and take to it with the mallets for two hours. Afterwards a bunch of the Moms organized the large sticky masses into little balls and coupled it with other confectionery delights.
For lunch we had a "mochi party" with tons of mochi and udon noodles-or the "how much weight can I gain in one afternoon" special. It was really fun, and go Japan for letting small children furiously wield giant weapons.


It's like a very delicious version of whack-a-mole.



Here's how you prepare it with red beans.