Sweets
Hangoroshi
Tokushima han-goroshi — an ohagi-style rice cake mashed only halfway
Glutinous and non-glutinous rice are cooked together, then mashed only halfway — leaving whole grains — before being wrapped around red bean paste, in this ohagi-like sweet. Named in contrast to minagoroshi, where the rice is mashed completely, han-goroshi meaning mashed only halfway.
- Origin: Tokushima Naka
- About 540 km west of Tokyo
What it's made of
Hangoroshi mixes glutinous and non-glutinous rice, cooks it, and mashes it only partway so grains still show, then wraps it in bean paste — an ohagi-like sweet from the Aioi district of Naka town. The partly mashed rice keeps a distinct graininess, different from the smoother "minagoroshi" version made by mashing the rice fully. Some households mix in mugwort for the dough or dust the finished piece with roasted soybean flour. The name is said to come from the mashing method itself — mashed only "halfway," or "han" — giving the dish its rather startling name.
How it's made
Glutinous rice is mixed with non-glutinous rice, soaked in water, and cooked with a pinch of salt. Once cooked, the rice is lightly mashed, leaving some grains whole, and wrapped around bean paste to finish. Many households make the bean paste from azuki beans themselves, though store-bought paste is sometimes used. Mugwort is sometimes kneaded in for fragrance, and roasted soybean flour dusted on top, with the finish varying a little from household to household. Mash it too far and it turns into the smoother minagoroshi instead, so judging the pressure by feel is what decides the result.
Why it took this shape
Naka town was formed in 2005 through the merger of five towns and villages and is mostly covered in forest, a mountainous area. Hangoroshi, especially cherished in the Aioi district, is said to have been served often to welcome guests, and a simple sweet made from readily available rice and azuki beans appears to have become the standard for that kind of hospitality. It was reportedly sold for a time under the name "kusamochi," but is said to have reverted to "hangoroshi" after local students asked for the original name back.
Before you go
- How to use a convenience storeA quick guide to choosing rice balls and hot snacks, buying coffee, paying by cash, IC card, or tap payment, using the eat-in corner, and sorting your trash — the basics for a first visit.
- How to shop in a depachika (department store food hall)A guide to browsing prepared foods and bento, choosing wagashi as a gift with a good shelf life, sampling etiquette, end-of-day discounts, asking for cold packs and wrapping, and finding your way around a depachika floor.
- Takeout and convenience store customsHow to answer "Shall I warm it up?", choosing chopsticks and a paid plastic bag, saying whether you'll eat in or take out, handling trash and eating while walking, and the different tax rate for takeout versus eating in.
Dishes in the same style
- Abekawa MochiFresh-pounded rice cake is dusted in soybean flour mixed with sugar. Named for the Abe River, it's said to have been famous among Tokaido travelers as a teahouse specialty and to appear in the travel novel Tokaidochu Hizakurige.
- Iga ManjuSweet bean paste is wrapped in rice flour dough, then coated with dyed sticky rice grains. One account ties the name to the grains' resemblance to a chestnut's spiny husk, and in the western Mikawa region it's said to be offered to Hina dolls at the Doll Festival.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Tokushima
- Amego no HirarayakiA flat stone is heated over a hearth for hours, then a border of miso is built on it to grill amego trout, stone tofu, and konjac — an outdoor dish from the Iya valley. Its name comes from hirara, a local word for a flat stone, and it is said to have long served as a dish for entertaining guests.
- Awa BanchaA post-fermented tea from Naka and Kamikatsu towns in Tokushima, fermented by lactic acid bacteria. Coarser leaves picked from midsummer on are boiled, packed into wooden barrels, fermented for roughly 10 days to two weeks, then sun-dried — said to give a refreshing sourness.
- Awa BitonRaised in the mountains of Awa City, Tokushima, at about 400 meters, on a feed centered on rice. Handlers are said to adjust the feed mix daily and avoid genetically modified crops where possible.
- Awa GyuPedigreed Japanese Black fattened in Tokushima, which gained recognition after being shown at a Tokyo meat market competition in 1962 — said to have a moist, fine-grained texture and modest fat.
- Awa no ItokoniSweet potato that has been boiled then dried — yude-boshi style — is rehydrated and simmered slowly with red beans for about two hours over low heat. Fitting for a region where drying vegetables is common in winter, it is said to be a warming side dish built on the concentrated flavor of dried sweet potato.
- Awa UiroRed bean paste mixed with rice flour and Awa wasanbon sugar is poured into a mold and steamed into a chewy cake. Said to have first been made to celebrate the completion of Awa wasanbon sugar in the Edo period, with related uiro cakes also found in Nagoya and Yamaguchi.