🍱 Hangoroshi

In 2005, Naka Town was born from the merging of five towns and villages in Tokushima Prefecture. It is an area abundant in nature, with over 90% of the town's area taken up by forest. It is divided into the five areas of the Wakiji area, Aioi area, Kaminaka area, Kisawa area, and Kito area; each has their own culture and customs. Among them is “hangoroshi,” which resemble “ohagi” (rice ball coated in red bean paste), a local food particularly loved in the Aioi area that is made with both sticky and non-sticky rice. The name hangoroshi (lit. “half-killed”) comes from only half-mashing the cooked rice so that some rice grains remain unmashed. For a time it was sold as “kusa-mochi” within the prefecture, but local students requested for the use of the original name, so it was once again dubbed “hangoroshi.” By the way, “ohagi” that are completely mashed are apparently called “minagoroshi.”