Given what you’ve revealed about the Japanese variety, and looking at what some of the people in @BakaNeko’s video are eating, I feel this may be in order…
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I found this article odd in that I thought everyone knew of the dangers of mochi. It’s a recurring trope in anime for someone to choke on it in a fall/winter episode.
@Mark_Sniadecki I had to check the author. Nope, it’s not the usual dumpster fire poster for this one.
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Have you forgotten where you are?
Snark is our most plentiful commodity here!
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Disappointing, really.
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We used to take the plain version of that (no beans) and cut it into cubes (it’s very dense, and hard to cut) and bake the cubes on a tray in the toaster oven. They puff up and get gooey soft inside. Yum! A nice snack. Haven’t had it since my toaster oven died some years ago, though.
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We used to take the plain version of that (no beans) and cut it into cubes (it’s very dense, and hard to cut)
Pro tip: score it with a knife, then break it by hand. Much easier than cutting, and also results in a rougher edge that crisps up nicely when baked, similar to the texture of an English muffin.
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Yeah, but mochi sort of combine all the qualities that make solid food hazardous - extremely chewy and glutinous, holding together in… unusual ways. The ice cream version is quite different from, say, the New Years cakes, as it’s a small quantity (so it’s harder to get a choking-hazard amount) and freezing seems to change the texture to be more easily eaten (or perhaps the way it’s made is different - either way, texturally it’s not the same).
It’s the same thing - pounded glutinous rice, but it takes a number of different forms, though the Japanese use “mochi” to refer to pure blocks of the stuff. By itself, the glutinous rice is slightly sweet, so it can end up in savory dishes or sweet ones. Sometimes the cakes are put in soup, or cooked and eaten with mildly sweet or savory toppings, or wrapped around e.g. sweet bean paste. Americans are more familiar with it made into stuffed “daifuku” snacks that traditionally are filled with mildly sweet ingredients (like sweet bean paste). Though Americanized versions get filled with sweeter fillings (ice cream, chocolate…).
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Mochi is gross, unless you’re one of those people that likes too much mozzarella on a pizza. If you’re one of those, you’ll love it.
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A bubble tea place near me came up with a new mochi flavour and it would a shame not to share it with the internet
So, it’s like butt-flavored mochi?
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The actual dangers of mochi exist, but the risks are slim. According to the BBC, “At the turn of 2014 to 2015, the number of casualties peaked at nine. In 2016 it was one, while last year two people died.”
I would be willing to bet that many more Britons have chokened to death on the finest British beef than on mochi.
That’s right, I said chokened. I have partaken in the finest British whiskey this fine eve and mustn’t be held responsible for my grammar. Good day, sir.
I said good day!
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Particularly if you let Kumamon help
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This just reminds me of my mother. There is nothing enjoyable in the world that she won’t be sure and disparage it with what the (very unlikely) dangerous hazards are.
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This summer I discovered the Korean variant Ineljomi. A bingsoo chain (Snowy Village) makes bingsoo (Korean milk based shaved ice) with red beans, ineljomi (kinako), rice cakes (mochi), and nuts. It’s freaking magical.
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Or filled with red bean paste?
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Tell it like it is brother!
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Thank you for the cackle. Kumamon is one of the finest mascots in Japan and deserves all the media attention they get.
I have this “wonderful” condition Eosinophilic esophagitis - Wikipedia so can totally relate.
Took 25 years to finally get a diagnosis, so I used to regularly choke if I didn’t chew VERY carefully.
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