🍡 Bandai Mochi

A local cuisine passed down from long ago in the Kuriyama region located in Tochigi Prefecture's Nikko city. Known for using Rice flour as opposed to glutinous rice, bandai mochi's name is said to have been derived from how it was made in small mountain huts where the rice was placed on top of a board and pounded with things such as the butt of an axe. As opposed to mochi which uses glutinous rice, bandai mochi is less sticky, hardens at a slower pace and is known for its smooth texture. In the Kuriyama region, the mochi is eaten in various ways depending on the area. The mochi can be formed into a flat round shape and brushed with sweet miso or jūne (perilla seed miso) and grilled, or it can be enjoyed with red bean paste and mashed soybeans (zunda) as toppings. Some also put it into soup stock made using freshly fished char.