Eating mochi ... watch out!

According to a press release, 9 japanese died due to eating mochi during the new year’s festivities.

mochi deaths

This isn’t much different than several Taiwanese being hospitalized for impactions after eating too much nian gao at the Lunar New Year, is it?

Mochi are dangerous. Always bite them into small pieces before eating them. A few people die each year eating them due to choking.

I was more disturbed by the men in loincloths. And Kanda is Cold at New Year.

Always make sure they’re dead.

I got bored and translated it into Chinese. Critiques welcomed.

奪命麻糬!日本傳9人跨年噎死

(法新社東京電,Hokwongwei譯)在日本迎接新年,一定要吃糯米作的「餅」(台譯「麻糬」),但據當地媒體報導今年傳出意外,有9個人吃麻糬竟吃到送命!

消防人員轉述,光是東京就有18名人因噎到送醫急救,其中3人宣告不治。

讀賣新聞報導,到禮拜五為止全日本被麻糬害死的人數已高達9名,重傷狀況嚴重者則12名。

國曆新年是日本人最重大的節日之一,傳統年菜包括名叫「雜煮」的素菜湯頭,裡面都會放幾片麻糬。

但過去幾年都有人因吃太大塊而不幸噎死,消防當局呼籲民眾先把麻糬切成小塊再開始享用,老人和嬰兒要特別留意。

I did not know mochi is dangerous.

“can be difficult to swallow the mochi, and once it swells halfway down the throat it can block the airways and result in suffocation. This is why it’s vital to cut mochi into small, manageable pieces and chew thoroughly before swallowing.”

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You can take my mochi, when you pry it from my cold, dead esophagus…
or,
Mochi don’t kill people, people kill people.

Either way, that’s why I cut it thin and eat it crispy. A little more stretchy than a scallion pancake, basically.

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Have you ever seen mochi on fire? I have! Way back when, I was gifted a second-hand fish roaster from someone who didn’t need it. As you can see, the lid closes down such that the upper heating wire is quite close to the fish, to enable good grilling.

image

(images from Fish Roaster EF-VPC40 | Zojirushi.com)

I used this thing as a makeshift toaster, which worked okay. One day, I put some mochi on the grill, and closed the lid. A few moments later, smoke started to form, and upon opening the lid, I was greeted with the magnificent sight of mochi on fire. What apparently happened is that while heating, the mochi expanded such that the top surface of the mochi touched the heating element. The moisture in the mochi quickly evaporated, leaving a paper-like consistency that easily caught fire. I wish I had pictures, but you can probably understand that upon seeing sudden and unexpected flames, the thought of finding my camera was rather far back in my mind.

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Still, not as dangerous as champagne corks or vending machines:

(though I don’t vouch for the accuracy of those stats :innocent:)

There’s those ghastly almost tennis ball sized mochi you see in some of the fake bread bakeries here, you’d want to be careful of those. The dainty little ones you get rolled by street vendors are probably safer.

I’m eating mochi while reading this. I feel like such a rebel.

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They are probably not rice but mixed with wheat flour.

Doubtful, wheat is more expensive than rice flour here.

They don’t use rice flour, they use rice, pound it and add some other starch or flour, and water which is cheap.

Good quality mochi needs to have a smooth mouthfeel, cheap stuff is not.

Where have you seen someone in Taiwan pounding rice for mochi?

The big ones are usually only a thin layer of mochi and filed with cream or paste, aren’t they?

The best way to eat mochi is grilled and dipped in sweetened condensed milk.

We do it a few times a year.

If someone can recommend a shop in Taipei that pounds the rice I would be grateful. Most mochi doughs are just factory made as far I am aware.

They probably do it by using a machine, not by hand as in the TV commercial. It’s as easy as using a dough mixer. I guess businesses in Hualian that sell mochi use rice and pound, Hualian rice.