Nihon Matsuri and the Quest for Mochi
A few weeks ago, I was eating dinner at Kyoto, a local treasure of a restaurant serving traditional Japanese cuisine, with my parents. My parents have traveled extensively in Japan, and they love to eat there because of the authenticity of the dining experience. I grew up studying the Japanese language and culture, and I love to go to a place where I can practice what little I have left of my speaking skills.
We especially enjoy siting at the bar to watch the sushi chefs in action. After a meal of ocean trout, kampachi, mussel shooters, vegetable tempura and many different types of sake (try the Ruby!), I inquired with our sushi chef about the availability of mochi, a Japanese desert made out of a pounded, sweet rice. I will never forget the first time I had mochi, in this case, it was served around ice cream. 
As soon as I took my first bite through the sticky, chewy and subtly sweet outer shell, I was hooked. Lately, I have been eating a version that is baked and puffs up into a gooey, grainy, scrumptious desert unlike anything I’ve ever had before.
So when the chef told me they were fresh out of mochi, I was obviously dejected. They must have noticed my mood shift, because sometime later in our evening, the server came out with a bowl of mochi balls covered in a red bean sauce. As a self-proclaimed "food snob," I was ecstatic to try this truly unique combination, and it absolutely titillated my taste buds.
The chef also told me about Nihon Matsuri, a local Japanese street festival where fresh mochi is pounded out. As soon as I found the date, I marked my calender.
This Saturday (April 26), I went to the festival with my mom. The goal of the festival, as stated on the website, is "to share and educate the larger Utah community about Japanese and Japanese American culture, history and traditions." As soon as we were a block away, I began to hear the deep rumbling of the taiko drums, to be followed by a Judo demonstration. 
I had one thing on my mind, however, and I quickly spotted the mochi booth, only to find the words mochi, freshly crossed out. I quickly asked to double check, and to my surprise, they had one serving of butter mochi left, which looks like this:
Again, it was a combination I had never had before. This one was more cake-like than any other. It had a buttery, flaky crust on top of the pounded, sweetened rice I have come to love so much. If you haven’t had mochi, I suggest going on your own quest to savor this special desert.
Here are some more pictures from the event:
I wished I had worn my kimono too!
To the right, my beautiful mother, Kristin Leiferman, and fellow mochi aficionado.
This event made me desperately want to go back to Japan (mochi tour?), and to brush up on my Japanese skills. Many of the same vendors will be at the Living Traditions festival coming up here in a few weeks. I can’t wait!
