Kirimochi 切り餅 is a type of dried mochi (rice cake made of mochigome glutinous rice) cut into rectangles. They're one of the most common forms of dried mochi cakes and are typically bought at New Year's time and in the winter season in general, to be used in traditional o-zōni stew, grilled (and served with soy sauce or wrapped in nori seaweed) and prepared in other savory and sweet ways.

However, that's not all you can do with kirimochi, and winter isn't the only season for enjoying it either...

Here's a cool gadget that may change your mind on what you can do with mochi. It lets you turn kirimochi into "cards" (slices) and comes in a set with shaped cutters that will let you turn those cards into cute animal shapes, too!

Japanese kids love mochi all year round, but you don't have to be a kid to have some fun, especially with a fun product like this!

And if you have kids, they'll surely delight in the cute animal shapes you can make with this mochi sliver set.

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It's time to slice! Your choice of three sizes

It's very easy to use the slicer. First, set the adjustment panel on the slicer to the thickness you want to slice.

After setting the kirimochi cake into position, just push the holding unit down slowly.

Before you know it, you have a thin slice of mochi. It's safe for kids to use too!

This is what it looks like when you slice it into 1 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm pieces, respectively. It's convenient to use them in different ways depending on your use and preference.

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Family fun with the mochi slicer!

A writer at our sister site Grape tried the Mochi Slicer with her kids.

"I was impressed! I'd never seen rice cakes this thin before," she admitted. "My daughter, a first-grader, loves mochi, so we got right to it, starting with the 1 mm slices."

Although it took her a short while to figure out the slicing mechanism, once she got it, she was surprised at how easily she could slice the kirimochi cake into thin cards.

"The mochi is so thin," she exclaimed, and then began cutting one slice after another.

The rice cake seemed to be a little hard for her to slice when it was 2 mm thick, and there were times when the rice cake broke off when she stopped in the middle, but she managed to slice it in the end.

The 3 mm cards require a good amount of strength, so it may be a little difficult for kids. "In our house, I was the one who handled the 3 mm slices, but even then, I was impressed to see how beautifully thin the rice cake could be."

Now we get to the really fun part! The Mochi Slicer also comes with animal-shaped cutters!

There are eight animals to choose from: hippopotamus, hedgehog, pigeon, cat, dolphin, squid, sea turtle, and tuna. "My kids had a hard time deciding which one they wanted to use..."

The kids placed the cutters on top of freshly sliced kirimochi cards and pushed them down to cut out the shapes. They shouted with joy when they were able to successfully cut out the mochi, which made for a lively mood in our house."

Even the 3 mm slices which they had trouble with made nice shapes that came out cleanly thanks to the included tool.

They made all the animal shapes!

The writer came up with other ideas for these thin mochi slices. For example, she cut out a squid shape from a slice of cheese, then put it on top of a slice of nori seaweed, resting on a slice of kirimochi.

She also took some of the mochi animals her kids had cut out earlier and put them into the frying pan. The mochi puffed up very soon but the cheese squids didn't keep their shape when they melted...

"I didn't flavor it in any way, but the shapes were so cute that we just began snacking on them. My kids said they were tasty and they enjoyed the simple but delicious taste of mochi."

"I loved the perfect combination of the crispy rice cake, nori, and cheese," the writer admitted.

The mochi animals are also great toasted in a toaster oven.

"I took the leftover pieces, grilled them a bit, seasoned them with soy sauce, and grilled them a bit more to make snacks that were very close to senbei rice crackers!"

You can also put them in a soup without grilling them. Just by adding these animal-shaped mochi slices, it turns into a cute-looking soup that will get kids excited!

"My dolphin is swimming!"

"Even my daughter, who is usually a bit uncomfortable with vegetable soup, was happy to eat it thanks to the cute rice cakes."

The sliced rice cakes soften quickly, so it's convenient to just quickly add them to finish the soup. If you slice a little extra, it will surely come in handy.

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Easy and quick: Add variety to your cooking!

"It was quite a discovery for me that I could enjoy rice cakes so much just by slicing them," the writer said.

With the Mochi Slicer, you can easily slice rice cakes, which makes it easy to use for everyday cooking as well as a fun activity to do with your kids.

It's a must-have item for mochi lovers that will make you want to enjoy mochi every day!