Hawaiianology

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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 ...