PROJECT Rice Snacks

Jan 8, 2022 | Culture, Kitchen PROJECTS, Winter

PROJECT Rice Snacks

Crisp-and-Crunchy Rice Snacks are a delicious way to use up leftover omochi. Inevitably after the New Years holidays pieces of omochi remain uneaten. Dried and cracking they can be repurposed into tasty ARARÉ.

This Kitchen PROJECT is about making crisp-and-crunchy rice snacks in YOUR kitchen. Use the basic recipe (above) to make your own version of araré.

More information about New Year’s ceremonial rice cakes called kagami mochi and their connection to araré can be found on the Kitchen Culture blog post.

 

What about moldy omochi?

Japanese Granny-wisdom claims no harm will be done by cutting away the blue-green moldy spots that grow on omochi. Indeed, in the old days, ao kabi (blue mold) was cultivated for its medicinal (antibiotic) properties, placing it on open wounds to avoid infection. Anyone with allergies to penicillin (or similar antibiotics) should not eat omochi that has developed moldy spots.

Currently nutrition scientists in Japan advise the public NOT to eat omochi that has turned moldy, even after cutting away visible spots. It is difficult for non-professionals, they warn,  to determine the difference between harmful molds and benign ones merely by color. Heat (cooking), they add, does not render toxic molds harmless.

 

PROJECT: Celebrating Tanabata

PROJECT: Celebrating Tanabata

The Tale of  TANABATA 七夕伝説 The Tale of Tanabata, which originated in China, has been told in Japan for at least 1200 years. The Japanese version tells the story of a cowherd (Kengyū in some versions, Hikoboshi in others, as the star Altair), and the Weaving Princess...

PROJECT Small Plates

PROJECT Small Plates

MAMÉ-ZARA FunCollecting and Using Small Plates Part of the fun of collecting dishes and other tabletop accessories, is to assemble wide-ranging variations within a category. With mamé-zara, one way to do this is focus on a color scheme such as red and then collect as...

Small Plates

Small Plates

MAMÉ-ZARA   豆皿  (Small Plates) One of the distinctive features of Japanese food arrangement is the use of many small plates and bowls in serving a meal. These vessels are typically varied in appearance (color, shape, design) and generally hold small portions of food...

Seasonal Word Play

Seasonal Word Play

In Japanese, the words for martial spirit (shōbu, 尚武), victory (shōbu, 勝負), and a reed that is a botanical relative of the iris flower (shōbu 菖蒲) make a fortuitous pun. Throughout Japan, during Golden Week, fragrant bunches of shōbu (iris reeds), are sold in...

Recent Posts & Projects