Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen
Page 4
“Yes, and I pounded mochi,” I whispered to her.
MOCHI QUEEN
In the living room, I watched three DVDs, played two board games, and built a castle out of blocks with Cassie and Leo. Nobody came in to check on us. They were all busy.
For lunch, I took Cassie and Leo into the kitchen to eat the peanut butter sandwiches Mom had made that morning. Outside, everyone else kept making mochi and taking turns eating lunch.
Cassie and Leo didn’t want to nap. We put together two puzzles. I was getting tired when, finally, I heard the door open and everyone coming into the house. Mochi-tsuki was over!
After a full day of making mochi, dinner was always takeout from Romero’s Pizza. Mom, the aunties, and Obaachan went straight from mochi-making into the kitchen. They had to cook the food for tomorrow’s New Year’s Day feast. Tomorrow, we would eat fried chicken, potato salad, sushi, beef teriyaki, and rice.
The smell of boiling potatoes for the potato salad mixed with the smell of tomato sauce and melted cheese from our dinner. Yum!
All the kids ate dinner at a folding table in the living room, while the adults ate in the kitchen so they could watch over the cooking. I grabbed for the last slice of pepperoni pizza at the same time as Eddie. I braced myself, ready to fight him for it. To my surprise, Eddie let go.
“You can have it,” he said with a shrug. “You’re going to need all the energy you can get for next year.”
“Next year?”
“For mochi-pounding.” He snatched a slice of plain cheese pizza instead.
“I’ll get to help next year?”
He didn’t answer. He shoved the pizza into his huge mouth and bit off half the slice. Gross.
“You know,” he said with his mouth full, “last year, I didn’t even get to hit it by myself. My dad helped me.”
I raised my eyebrows. I didn’t know why he was telling me this.
“But,” he said, spitting bits of pizza out onto the table, “I’m sure I could have done better than you if I’d been given the chance!”
I sucked in my bottom lip, but this time so I wouldn’t smile. It sounded to me like Eddie was jealous!
“You’re not going to eat that, then?” He eyed my pizza.
I could be nice, too. It was lukewarm by now anyway. I slid my plate over to him.
“Thanks, Jasmine Pee!” He took the slice and left for the kitchen.
“Misa-chan.” Obaachan sat down next to me. It was the first time I’d talked to her since the morning.
“Hi, Obaachan. Did you get any pizza?”
She shook her head, crinkling her nose. “That not dinner! You need eat more Japanese foods.”
I nodded, because she was Obaachan.
“Here.” She handed me my apron, folded neatly in a square. “For you. You wear next year when you pound mochi.”
I grinned. “Really?”
“Yes. You make me proud.”
I thanked her. “Arigato, Obaachan.”
“You are welcome,” she said.
“Jasmine Toguchi!” Mom’s voice bounced into my ears.
My heart pounded like a mochi hammer. Was I in trouble?
Mom came around the corner holding a plate with the biggest mochi ever. Wowee zowee! It was toasted golden and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, just the way I liked it.
“Jasmine Toguchi,” Mom said again as she placed the plate in front of me. “You are the Mochi Queen!”
Obaachan raised her teacup. “You strong girl!”
Everyone else came into the living room, cheering. Even not-so-mean cousin Eddie was clapping.
“But it’s not midnight yet,” I said. I almost drooled smelling the sweet mochi.
“I think today we learned it’s okay to break some rules,” Mom said.
I waved Sophie over. She sat next to me and together we ate the first mochi of the year!
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Mochi (moh-chee) is a Japanese treat made from sticky rice. It usually looks like a small white ball. Sometimes it is cut into neat rectangles or squares. It is a sticky, chewy dessert that can be eaten at any time of the year, although it is especially important during the New Year’s holiday celebration, or Oshogatsu (oh-show-ga-tsoo). According to Japanese tradition, eating mochi at the start of the year ensures good luck.
Mochi-tsuki (moh-chee-tsoo-kee) literally means mochi-making. Mochi-tsuki involves preparation and hard work. A day before mochi-tsuki, the special mochi rice has to be washed and soaked. The next day, the rice is steamed in big batches.
While it is still hot, the cooked rice is placed in a mortar called an usu (oo-soo). It can be made out of stone or wood. A special mallet or hammer called a kine (kee-neh) is used to pound the rice into mochi. The wooden hammer is heavy and it’s very hard work to pound the rice. Traditionally, it has been considered a job for men.
To keep the rice from sticking to the mortar, another person reaches into the mortar in between pounding to wet the rice and turn it.
Once the rice is pounded into mochi, it is taken to a table that is dusted with mochiko (moh-chee-koh), a rice flour. The flour keeps the mochi from sticking to the table. It is traditional for the women to form the mochi treats by pinching pieces off the hot ball of mochi and rolling them into smaller balls.
Mochi can be put in a soup of vegetables and broth called ozoni (oh-zone-ee) to eat on New Year’s morning. Mochi can also be toasted. Some people like to eat it with sugar and soy sauce.
These days, many Japanese families no longer make their own mochi. They either buy it from stores or use special mochi-making machines (like rice cookers). Turn the page for a microwave recipe that you can use to make your own mochi at any time of the year. Enjoy!
Makes approximately 16 squares
MICROWAVE MOCHI RECIPE
ALWAYS BE SURE TO HAVE A GROWN-UP HELP YOU!
INGREDIENTS
• 1½ cups mochiko (Japanese rice flour), plus a couple of handfuls
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 1½ cups water
• cooking spray
* * *
Note: Mochiko can be purchased in Asian grocery stores or online.
* * *
UTENSILS
Measuring cups, medium or large bowl, mixing spoon, 9 × 9 square microwavable pan (glass or ceramic), cutting board, small knife
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Mix 1½ cups of mochiko with the sugar and water in a bowl until smooth.
2. Spray microwavable pan with cooking spray.
3. Pour mochiko mixture into pan.
4. Microwave on high for 7½ minutes until ingredients become a puffy dough-like mass. (Cooking times may vary.)
5. Dust cutting board with mochiko.
6. With an adult’s help, remove hot pan from microwave. Flip pan over onto the mochiko-dusted cutting board. Cooked mochi should come out of the pan in one big square.
7. Let mochi cool until you can safely handle it.
8. Cut into small square pieces.
HOW TO EAT MOCHI
You can eat mochi as is, or dip it into sugar, cinnamon, and/or soy sauce for extra flavor. You can also toast it lightly in a toaster oven for a crispier outer shell. Mochi is very sticky, so take small bites and chew carefully.
HOW TO STORE MOCIHI
Wrap cooled mochi loosely in wax paper and store at room temperature. Eat within two days.
Read on for a sneak peek of …
BIG PLANS
Bing bong bong bing!
Ms. Sanchez played the end-of-the-day song on her xylophone. It was time to clean up and get ready to go home. Normally I do not like to clean, but today was different. I was looking forward to the end of school.
Because I, Jasmine Toguchi, had big weekend plans!
I was excited for my best friend, Linnie Green, to come over to my house. Usually on Fridays, she walked home with her babysitter, Marcy. But Marcy, who is in high school, was sick. Hooray! Not that I wanted Marcy to be s
ick. That would be mean, and one of Mom’s rules is to be nice. But this way Linnie could come to my house to play.
My classmates took out their notebooks. Normally after Ms. Sanchez played her end-of-the-day song, she gave us our homework assignment. I was the only person who did not take out her notebook, because I knew better.
Maggie Milsap raised her hand. “Ms. Sanchez! Jasmine doesn’t have her notebook.”
Everyone turned to look at me.
“Did you forget it, Jasmine?” Ms. Sanchez asked.
“No, Ms. Sanchez,” I said. “It’s in my desk.”
Ms. Sanchez smiled. “Is there a reason you’re not taking it out?”
“Yes,” I said, “because you’re not giving us homework.”
“You aren’t a mind reader,” Maggie Milsap said.
“No,” I said. “But when Ms. Sanchez is going to give us homework, she puts her blue notebook on the desk. When she isn’t going to give us homework, she doesn’t take out the blue notebook.”
Ms. Sanchez nodded. “Jasmine has outstanding observation skills. She would make an excellent detective. Class, what does detective mean?”
Ms. Sanchez was sneaky, always finding ways to teach us stuff. Detective was one of our vocabulary words.
Hands shot in the air, including mine. Ms. Sanchez called on me and I answered. “A detective is someone who solves mysteries by using clues. Another word for detective is sleuth.”
I tossed in the last part because I learned that from my mom. Mom is an editor, a person who helps writers with their words. Mom loves words like Ms. Sanchez loves books or music, and she’s always sharing new words with me and my big sister, Sophie.
“Very good!” Ms. Sanchez said. “And Jasmine is right. Today there is no homework!”
Everyone cheered. I cheered extra-loud because this weekend was important. No homework meant free time for my big plans! Not only was Linnie sleeping over on Saturday, but we were celebrating Girl’s Day together for the first time on Sunday!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of two nonfiction books for children in the Kaleidoscope Kids Series, China and Japan. She is a third generation Japanese American, and many of her ideas for the Jasmine Toguchi series come from family experiences. Debbi lives in Connecticut with her husband and their two ducks, Darcy and Lizzie. This is her fiction debut. You can sign up for email updates here.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Elizabet Vuković received her MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California. She specializes in children’s book illustration, but enjoys experimenting with character design, concept art, fashion illustration, and decorative art. She currently resides in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
1. A Terrific Idea
2. My Thinking Spot
3. The Plan in Action
4. Obaachan’s Gift
5. Muscles Needed
6. Mean Cousin Eddie
7. Wanted: Mochi Hammer
8. The Big Question
9. The Long Wait
10. Breaking the Rules
11. My Turn!
12. Run Away
13. Mochi Queen
Author’s Note
Microwave Mochi Recipe
Excerpt from Jasmine Toguchi, Super Sleuth
About the Author and Illustrator
Copyright
Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
Text copyright © 2017 Debbi Michiko Florence
Illustrations copyright © 2017 Elizabet Vuković
All rights reserved
First hardcover edition, 2017
eBook edition, July 2017
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Florence, Debbi Michiko, author. | Vukovic, Elizabet, illustrator.
Title: Jasmine Toguchi, mochi queen / Debbi Michiko Florence; pictures by Elizabet Vukovic.
Description: First edition. | New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017. | Series: Jasmine Toguchi | Summary: Eager to do something her big sister has not done first, Jasmine Toguchi, eight, decides to pound mochi with the men and boys when her family gets together for New Year’s. | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016038112 (print) | LCCN 2017017613 (ebook) | ISBN 9780374304126 (ebook) | ISBN 9780374304102 (hardcover) | ISBN 9780374308346 (pbk.)
Subjects: | CYAC: Family life—Fiction. | Mochi—Fiction. | Cooking, Japanese— Fiction. | Sex role—Fiction. | Japanese Americans—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.F593 (ebook) | LCC PZ7.1.F593 Jam 2017 (print) | DDC [E]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016038112
eISBN 9780374304126