I want to add a few details to my brief post about mochi that I made before.
To begin with, mochi is made from a different type of rice from what we eat every day. It's more pricey and has a stronger stickiness. Those who like mochi eat it year-round, but probably more than half of mochi is consumed in January. It's just my guess from the fact that more than half of mochi fatalities happen in January.
This video shows how important mochi is for the New Year's tradition. They make round mochi in the video, but people in my neighborhood make rectangle ones like I did. We eat mochi in soup called zoh-nee on New Year's day. My late mother cooked it in Japanese vegan style with soy sauce, so I inherited that. There are a lot of ways to eat mochi, sweet and savory, besides zoh-nee. I enjoy eating it with walnut paste seasoned with soy sauce.
The photo below shows a mochi-pounding machine. I looked for the percentage of households that own a mochi-pounding machine, but couldn't find any information. I assumed that making mochi required a huge and heavy pestle and mortar or a mochi-pounding machine. However, I could make it with a regular rice cooker and a small pestle. I'll do that starting next year as well.
The images below show how to rescue your family if they were about to choke on mochi. My uncle nearly choked on mochi a few years ago, and his family quickly vacuumed it and saved him. Most of Japanese know this method with a vacuum cleaner.
So, be cautious when eating a large piece of plain mochi, and remember these emergency procedures!
Update: I've learned the vacuum cleaner approach isn't recommended. They say that modern vacuum cleaners have strong suction power and may damage the mouth.
Wow, I'm more curious about using a vacuum. Is an actual vacuum machine used to try to suck out the stuck mochi?
The second image shows what we call in America the "Heimlich maneuver." This is how we're taught to help someone who is choking on something. People will say, "Do the Heimlich maneuver!"
Thank you, @Ersatzjello ! I meant "a vacuum cleaner", so I've added "cleaner" after "a vacuum". Does it make sense?
I wrote the term "Heimlich maneuver" on a flashcard. I should remember it in case of an emergency!
There wasn't a language misunderstanding, but maybe just a cultural one (vacuum, vacuum machine, and vacuum cleaning are all fine for referring to that particular machine). I've never heard of the advice to use that machine to try to suck out food stuck in someone's throat, so that was what was surprising.
@Ersatzjello Oh, I see! However, after writing this post, I searched for "餅 掃除機" and I found a lot of statements that vacuum cleaners are dangerous and should never be used. They say that modern vacuum cleaners have strong suction power and may damage the mouth, and this method is too old. Maybe my uncle was safe because the vacuum cleaner was old, too.
https://kahoku.news/articles/20230112khn000010.html