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Soaking Wooden Boxes of Mochi Rice

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When a friend from Chiba Prefecture, Japan had come to the islands for an exchange she wasn’t thinking of artisan mochi, but when she was learning about the Hawaii scene for mochi she was expecting something close to a Wagashi shop. Maybe a long alley way that had shops on both sides in the traditional Japanese way that had nice cases of mochi with glass coverings, but what she stepped into was closer to a hole in the wall shop. It was a bit of boredom, culture shock, and recognition that there was nothing but the types of beans that would be familiar, but all the rest, it wasn’t Japanese at all. It was mochi that was being made in a way that was pretty foreign, so she thought about it with the approach with the large amounts of sugar that was in the mochi rice for more than a subtle sweetness, but in comparison it was too sugary. Why do they add so much sugar to it? Do they eat mochi with green tea? And why are there other sweet things in the mochi? Those answers would come as she lea...
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Whacking Mochi and Pounding for Luck

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The mochi factories that people would go to had shut down, like Homemade Bakery where they were known for their mandu and mochi. Some of the smaller shops didn't have a social media account or announcement that was out to the public and they silently vanished from the streets. People started to realize with all of the places that had their treats vanishing they would have less choices and have to turn to making their own. Rather than coming to the counter and being asked “Manju” or “Mochi”, the sweets would have to be made with the family. But it wasn’t anything mindblowing, but it was something that was soft textured and tasty when it was chewy fresh. The powder would coat the mouth and the memory would be part of growing up, so people could remember before there was supermarket packed bentos of mochi, but specialty ones that were picked from a nice selection window. It was the mochi of families, so it was part of the cooking from the past and stayed in the present without much mo...
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Traditions of Hawaii Mochitsuki

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Mochi Pounding (jp.Mochitsuki), it happens in preparation of the New Year celebration in Hawaii and is done either with a Traditional Japanese Wood Malley or Mochi Machine. It is not exclusive to the Japanese in Hawaii, because as many other traditions have integrated and changed over time in the islands the mochi pounding gathering is no exception. With mochi pounding comes other traditions like Hawaii New Years Soup (Ozoni) and Good Luck Mochi Stack (Kagami Mochi). In Japan there would be a ceremony called “Kagami Biraki” (鏡開き), translated as "opening the mirror", where the mochi would have enough time exposed to the elements that it would become as hard as a rock and shattered with a hammer as it was the "breaking of the mochi". It is a Japanese traditional ceremony held on January 11th that would symbolize the shattering of our old soul and starting anew for the remaining year. It has become a New Years tradition of families who celebrated Cultural things, from ...
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Finding Home in Mochi and Hawaii Powdered Starch

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Mochi would be apart living with one another, outside forces would make things unbearable for all who lived in the islands while painting it as paradise, but people would have their contributions to mochi making as it strayed farther and farther from its original form. Looking from the market shelves or a snack that was at mom or dads office, there was always mochi somewhere to be found, but this was also beside malasadsa and kulolo that were the sweet staples. It's typical in Hawaii that people tend to have a race related identity crisis as they learn that they have become something far different than what they have been told from their supposed home-country, so they dive deeper into things like mochi. Even if they did a study on their family history, the blood lines, and the journey the family has been on its the mix that keeps things sticking together, because it's about understanding what they have become a part of, not what they gave up, and that it's about understandi...
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Mochi: Hawaii's Chewy Assemblies of Craft and Culture

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Let’s pound the mochi The sound of flattening Kneading it, Sugaring it, Localize it Rolling it, Making it, Shaping it Fill it up, yessah, it’s done! Some get beans, some get treats Some get all kine things for eats  Life is uncertain, so eat dessert first! -Hawai’i Island Hilo Boy As more properties are bought up from Japanese Companies looking to come in, or Mainland Companies looking to extract, there are few places that are able to keep their roots. It can be the last day for a business and in the local fashion people will not get much of a chance to go before they choose to throw in the towel, because that's the humble way to go out. These places the story is typical, the landscape has been built for the larger companies, and the people need to get their bites in before another place bites the dust. The farther and more inconvenient places have a better chance, so passing the larger residential areas, the larger commercial spaces there can be good times ahead. After a long day ...
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Guide to Hawaii Loco Moco

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Some people may call it a breakfast, or some might call it the breakfast served at lunch, and some may even call it the hamburger volcano of gravy and eggs, but it's the Hawaii comfort food called the Loco Moco. A Loco Moco consists of: the rice, the gravy, the patty, the eggs, and the toppings. The patty had been a burger, however as time went on many sorts of ingredients were used and shaped like a patty, such as: formed patties, meatloafs, and seasoned seafood pokes. Originating from the Big Island it has become a staple at many plate lunch restaurants and has no association as a breakfast plate, which makes it a great choice at any time of day. There are several categories for Loco Moco and that is: Sauteed Patties (1), Grill Patties (2), Fried Patties (3), Seafood Patties (4) types. When heading out to either a restaurant or a loco moco shop there maybe some confusion with the words “Loco” as a shortened way to say loco moco or “Moco” that sometimes refers to non-patty dishes ...
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Karai Crab

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Description: Karai Crab (2012-2025) was a Hawaii casual dining restaurant that was located in Moiliili area near Hausten Street on Oahu. The company would operate out of the historic Willows Restaurant. The Willows would inspire Karai Crab with its own mission: “To share aloha in a special gathering place creating lasting memories for all”. The founders were Jon Shimotsukasa, Garret Kamei and chef Miles Miyamoto who were all alumna of the Legendary "The Willows Restaurant". The designs were made by Wall to Wall Studios Inc for the brands visual identity with wall art known as "Laws of the Claw". Etymology:  Karai Crab – meaning “Spicy Crab” – was what was used for the logo direction of the original drawing of a excited cute crab with fire in its mouth that looked like a fiery furnace. Later on the logo would evolve with this description to a fire like color themed good luck daruma crab sort of logo when they changed there design once again. Customer favorites were t...
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