Abekawa Mochi: Shizuoka’s Specialty Wagashi Sweet

In the previous entry, I wrote about Kinako Mochi. Actually, after posting the article, the sweet mochi dish reminded me of Shizuoka’s specialty wagashi sweet called “Abekawa Mochi (安倍川もち)”.

Abekawa Mochi (安倍川もち)

Abekawa Mochi is a kind of Kinako Mochi that is said to have originated in the early Edo period, about 400 years ago. The mochi confection was first made in Shizuoka City in Shizuoka Prefecture, but now it is widely enjoyed around the country.

Origin 

One legend holds that when Ieyasu Tokugawa, the first shogun in the Tokugawa shogunate, stopped by a tea house on the shore of the Abekawa River in Shizuoka, the owner served him a Kinako-coated mochi rice cake.

To resemble gold dust that could be mined in the upper reaches of Abekawa River, the owner used the yellow roasted soybean flour Kinako and said to Ieyasu “This is “Kinako Mochi (金な粉餅)” using Abekawa’s gold dust”.

Actually, “Kinako (きな粉)” can be represented using Chinese characters or Kanji as “黄な粉” or “金な粉”. While the former “黄な粉” can refer to yellow powder or roasted soy flour, the latter “金な粉” can refer to golden powder or gold dust.

Ieyasu was much delighted with the Kinako Mochi and is said to have named it Abekawa Mochi.

The Difference: Abekawa Mochi vs Kinako Mochi

As I wrote in the previous article, the Kinako flour for Kinako Mochi is usually mixed with white sugar before steamed mochi rice cake is coated with it, but in Abekawa Mochi, steamed mochi is first coated in unsweetened Kinako flour, and then dusted with white sugar. 

Further, unlike Kinako Mochi, Abekawa Mochi is often served with Ankoro Mochi using Koshi-An paste.

(Reference Page: Wikipedia 安倍川もち )