Botamochi
Today, I will talk about a traditional Japanese cake called botamochi.
ぼたもち
Botamochi is a rice cake wrapped in sweet bean paste.
今日は、和菓子「ぼたもち」を紹介します。
This rice cake is made by boiling/steaming sticky rice and non-glutinous rice, pounding them lightly, and making it into a ball.
ぼたもちは、もち米とうるち米を混ぜたものを炊くか蒸すかし、軽くついて丸めて餡をまぶした食べ物です。
Also, there is a Japanese cake called “ohagi,” which is almost the same as botamochi.
ほとんど同じ和菓子に、「おはぎ」があります。
There are several theories that explain the difference between botamochi and ohagi, but I think that the theory, which insists that the name depend on the season, is widely accepted.
ぼたもちとおはぎの違いについては諸説ありますが、季節によって呼び分けるという説が有力です。
Since botan (tree peonies) bloom in the spring, botamochi is a spring mochi (rice cakes).
ぼたもちは牡丹の花が咲く季節、すなわち春のもちであり、おはぎは萩の花が咲く季節、すなわち秋のもちです。
Since hagi (bush clovers) bloom in autumn, ohagi is an autumn mochi.
ちなみに、有名なことわざに予期しない幸運を表す「棚からぼたもち」があります。
By the way, there is a famous saying “tana kara botamochi” (botamochi falls from a shelf into one’s mouth), which expresses an unexpected lucky.
この言葉はしばしば「たなぼた」と省略して使われます。
This saying is often referred to as “tanabota” for short.
