Off-the-Eaten Path Food Experience in Japan. "Meet the People and Places behind your Plates! "

Tuesday, 6 February 2018

[3rd & 10th Feb 2018] Ultimate Slow Food: hunting Kudzu and processing kudzu mochi

We organized an event to produce kudzu (vegan starch made from kudzu roots).

"Indeed, this is ultimate!", said everyone during the workshop.


First, we went to mountain to find and harvest kudzu roots.

Kudzu is very pervasive weeds in summer, which can be seen everywhere, however, in winter season, the sign to find their roots is just vine and beans.

It is said that roots grown in the sunny mountain contain good quality of starch.

We made effort to dig away such a big rock!

Finally, we did it!


Washing roots,


and breaking down its fiber.

filtering and precipitating impurities out of the water 5-6 times.


The following morning...


We made kudzu mochi.


This is not completely refined, and it will take another 5-10 days before refining completely, however, some said this crude kudzu tastes better, containing much more flavor, something like "full-body" kudzu.


The next kudzu processing tour will be held on the 10th February.

This article is about last event:

The art of Kudzu, cooking kudzu roots powder in Yoshino mountain
http://www.satoyamalibrary.org/2017/12/the-art-of-kudzu-cooking-arrow-roots.html

We can organize same kind of event if you can book with a group of more than 5 people. Please feel free to inquire if interested.