Japanese Food Tips

Steamed rice with red beans (sekihan) is preferred as a special food for happy events such as birthdays, weddings, festivals and so on in Japan. Although the exact origin is not known, it was sometime during ancient times. It was first widely used as an offering to God, but by the 18th century had also spread as a popular dish among the general public. In order to get the best sekihan, it should be cooked in the traditional way in a double boiler using only glutinous rice (mochi-gome). However, now it is usually cooked in a rice cooker at home, and regular rice or a mixture of regular and glutinous rice is used instead of glutinous rice only. It is often eaten when it has cooled off, and with a mixture of salt and black sesame seeds sprinkled on the top. It is also sold at department stores and supermarkets and can be found sold as rice balls at convenience stores. If you are served sekihan in Japan, you may have encountered a happy scene.