Japanese New Years Feast - 2

Healthy Japanese Miso Soup 

雑煮　Zouni, Rice Cake Soup

Zoni (雑煮) literally means stew with many different ingredients.

It’s a traditional food for Japanese New Year.

 There are so many kinds of zoni.  People in different region make different style Zoni. 

Zoni, mochi(sticky rice cake) in soup, is a must in new years feast, however, people in some region eat grilled mochi. 

Tokyo style is a clear fish consomme soup with chicken, kamaboko(fish cake), komatsuna(green vegetable), shitake mushroom, Yuzu lemon peal and mochi.

Kyoto style is white miso soup with Kyotoks traditional vegetales such as Kyo ninjin (dark red carrot), Shogoin daikon (large turnip), Ebiimo (taro potato), and mochi, and put dried bonito flakes on top. 

I made my original Zoni this year.

It’s a miso soup like Kyoto style but I made with beef fillet mignion.

Ingredients:

beef

turnip

carrot

Japanese taro potato

Seri (green wild vegetable)

mochi (millet and sticky rice)

kobu

bonito powder

sake 

white miso (soy bean paste)

Japanese New Year’s Feast ー お節料理

Healthy Japanese Food

Japanese New Year’s Feast

Celebrating new year is the most important event for Japanese people.

Visit parents, family gather, and eat special feast like Thanksgiving and. Christmas.

Traditional foods for new year are Kuromame(sweetened black soybean), Datemaki(rolled egg omlette), Gomame(small sardine) Kurikinton(sweetened chestnut), Kamaboko(steamed fish cake),, Kazunoko(herring eggs), Namasu(pickled turnip, carrot, and dried persimmon), Subasu(sour lotus), Kobumaki(rolled Kobu seaweed), Nishime(bamboo shoot, carrot, burdock, vegetables)fish, shrimp, and more. 

Usually put all dishes in Jubako, three layered boxes and put on a dinner table that the family can serve food by themselves.

There are varieties of ingredients. You can cook less fat, less salt, and less sugar at home today.  Some people eat Chinese style Osechi and others eat western style Osechi.  

The family must drink Toso(herbal non-alcohol sake) before start eating food to thank and wish for new year.

Due to COVID-19 pandemic, I stayed home alone and didn’t prepare many dishes.   No food in Jubako boxes. 

My new years dishes for 2021 is very simple.