How to have your mochi&nbsp ✨️Part 1

Have mochi but not sure how to cook them?

No worries, we got you 🍴😋
Here’s two delicious ways to have your Mochi:

1. Ozoni (Mochi Soup)
A traditional Japanese soup usually eaten during the New Year’s 🥣 Each family tends to have their own unique recipe 💫

What you’ll need:

🍽 Mochi (if frozen, microwave in 30 second intervals till softened)

🍽 Chicken

🍽 Veggies (In video – lotus, carrots, mountain potatoes, daikon, shiitake)

🍽 Soup base (In video – using bonito flakes and kelp, can also be store bought dashi)

👉Steam and cut the veggies
👉Make soup base
👉Put cut up chicken in soup
👉Bring to boil
👉Meanwhile, cut the mochi into bite size pieces and broil them in the oven or toast in toaster oven
👉Once soup is boiling, put in the veggies
👉When the mochi is puffy and browned, take it out of the oven
👉Combine the veggies, chicken and mochi in serving bowls
👉Pour soup into the bowls
👉Bon a pettit

2. Oshiruko (Red Bean Soup)

A traditional Japanese dessert that is sweet and warm 

What you’ll need:
🍽 Mochi
🍽 Anko (Red Bean Paste – you can buy in store or make them yourself)
🍽 Water

👉Place Anko (red bean paste) and water in a pot (1:1)
👉 Add sugar to taste
*Please note store bought Anko may already be pretty sweet
👉Bring to a soft boil
👉Meanwhile, broil the mochi in the oven or toast in toaster oven till puffy and browned
👉Combine the red bean soup and mochi in bowls
👉Enjoy!!

Stay tuned to Part 2 where we will introduce more ways to eat your Mochi 🎉

For more detailed recipes on how to make Ozoni, Oshiruko, or Anko, we recommend the YouTube channel “Cooking with dog”🐶

Mochitsuki2024

Pre-Order and Pick Up Mochi at the OJCC Before Mochitsuki

Not able to attend Mochitsuki but still want to have some delicious mochi for the holidays? No worries – we got you!️  Fresh Rolled Mochi & Frozen Kiri Mochi will both be available for purchase and pickup before the Mochitsuki event.  Order and Pick up your Mochi at the Ottawa Japanese Cultural Centre (B16-2285 St. Laurent Blvd) 

Place your order and pay via Credit Card using this Mochi Order Form 

Mochi Pick-up Available on the following days:

  Saturday, November 30th and Saturday, December 7th 

Available for order: 

Large Fresh-rolled Mochi Plate – $10.00 per plate *Includes anko/kinako on the side.

Large Kiri Mochi (frozen) Plate – $10.00 per plate *Includes anko/kinako on the side.

Consider pre-ordering your admission tickets and food items ahead of time:

 Mochitsuki 2024 Pre-Order FORM

🎊 TOMONI / GO TOGETHER-Japanese Community Variety Show!🎊

Saturday, November 16th @ Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre

This November, experience a performance like no other at the Tomoni / Go Together showcase!

Watch the magic unfold as Japanese cultural artists collaborate with non-Japanese artists to create something truly unique.

Tomoni / Go Together
📅 Date: Saturday, November 16, 2024
⏰Time: Show starts at 7 PM | Doors will open at 6:15 PM
📍Location: Carleton Dominion Chalmers Centre (280 Lisgar Street)
🎟️Tickets: FREE—register on Eventbrite to secure your spot! Pay-what-you-want donations are accepted at the door and greatly appreciated in support of our community.

👉What is Tomoni/Go Together?
Hosted by Ottawa’s Japanese cultural performance community, Tomoni/Go Together is a Japanese Community Variety Show featuring daring artistic collaborations between Japanese Cultural Performers and invited Artists – A Japanese Community Celebration!

Every two years, we warmly invite non-Japanese artists from a variety of disciplines to collaborate with us and to create something surprising and new.

Riding a wonderful momentum, 2024’s Tomoni/Go Together promises to be its biggest and boldest celebration yet! Expect unlikely and ambitious collaborations that will keep you on the edge of your seat 🙌

This year, our roster of performers include: 

Minyo-kai 
Ottawa Woodwind Project
Oto-Wa Taiko
Kaylie Kreatrix
Montreal Steppers

Le Coeur gai d’Ottawa Gay Men’s Chorus
Aki Takahashi

& MORE!

🎉 Join us for an unforgettable evening of beauty, creativity, and entertainment!

Proudly presented by the OJCA in partnership with:
🌟Carleton University Art Gallery
🌟Japanese Canadian Legacies
🌟Ottawa Community Foundation
🌟Ontario Arts Council
🌟City of Ottawa
🌟Embassy of Japan in Canada

Follow our facebook at @ojca-ojcc for more updates and details! 

Ottawa Obon 2024 report

We bring you a wonderful look at Ottawa’s first Obon ceremony, which took place on Bate Island on Saturday, August 10th, before dusk (and heavy rain) descended on the island.

It was a wonderful gathering. The park came alive with the beautiful yukata robes worn by many of this year’s attendees. The festivities began with the making of paper lanterns, which were then hung on nearby trees and around the ceremonial site to help summon the ancestral spirits to the gathering. This was followed by a hearty meal of potluck, dancing, and finally, escorting the ancestral spirits down the river to return them to their homelands.

Thank you so much to event organizers Shigemi Ichino and Mari Wellman, as well as to sound technician, David Okura who supplied expert services and technical support. The whole park was able to enjoy the sounds of our Odori dancing thanks to him!