Breaking the mirror mochi

On New Year, you’ve seen I had this decoration. This white pile with a plastic orange on top is the kagami mochi (mirror mochi). But that was a fake plastic one, you can see real mochi on the side. They were hidden inside.

I replaced the false orange. Some people use real mochi :

(photo found on google)

What I call “real mochi” is cooked sticky rice, pounded into a paste, and let dry. It becomes solid blocks. More here :
mochi 101

For “soft sweets” with mochi see daifuku mochi here :
Wagashi Saga : Photo-menu of all Japanese sweet posts.

The reason for using a *fake* is not the price. It’s because the fresh mochi dries and becomes flaky. So many people prefer as ornament objects in shape of mochi (you can find plastic, wood, fabric…).
Anyway the kagami towers are displayed as New Year decoration until today. Then, the mochi is broken (or taken out of the plastic) and eaten. Cool !
Well, I had no idea. Mines have been eaten on January 1st.

So I bought more mochi, cut in rectangles. It’s kiri mochi.

5 minutes under the broiler : it becomes soft, it inflates, it get roasted. It’s yaki mochi, roast mochi. It can be seasoned with savory or sweet things.

With zenzai.
It’s sweet azuki bean soup. I put in the blender cooked azuki beans, their broth, a little water, sweetener (lakanto). I reheated slowly. It can be completed with yaki mochi or boiled mochi.

another version of zenzai