Japanese Sweets for May - Kashiwa Mochi 柏餅！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Kashiwa mochi before eating

Inside kashiwa (oak) leaf

Cross section of kashiwa mochi

Are you looking for Japanese sweets? If you're in Japan in May, you should try kashiwa mochi!

Kashiwa mochi is a traditional Japanese rice cake sweet with usually red bean paste filling wrapped in a kashiwa (oak) leaf. It's for Children's Day (May 5) to celebrate their growth, but eaten throughout May. Some use white bean paste mixed with miso (fermented soybeans) instead of red beans paste.

You can find this mochi sweet at not only special Japanese confectionery stores, but also supermarkets or even convenient stores. I bought these two, a white one and a green yomogi (mugwort) one, at a neighborhood supermarket.

I wanted to get miso kashiwa, too, but it sold out! So, if you find a miso one, don't miss it!!

Last, but not least, be careful not to eat the oak leaf! It's inedible unlike the edible cherry leaf of sakura mochi.

柏餅を買いに近くのスーパーに。でもみそ餡が売り切れ！白いのとよもぎを買って帰りました。今日、みそ餡、買いに行きます！