JAPAN'S NEW YEAR MEAL
- José Carlos Gómez Delgado
- Jan 6, 2016
- 2 min read
In new year we often unleash our appetite and give us the stomach with dishes we don't use to eat during the rest of the year. Japan is no exception. Since in Japan only New Year (Oshogatsu) is celebrated, those different foods are concentrated between the last day of the year and the first ones of the new year. The most common Japanese menus for these dates are:
Toshikoshi soba
Actually, there is no difference between this and another kind of soba eaten in April or September, as instance. The only difference is the name: is the soba eaten in the end of the year. It is independent of the dinner has been eaten or not previously, about ten in the evening of the last day of the year this toshikoshi soba is eaten. It can be of any type, depending on the chosen ingredient. The photo is "kitsune soba", to bring fried tofu.
Zouni
Zouni is a soup made with different types of vegetables (daikon, carrots ...), tofu and mochi. This last one is a kind of rice dumpling that can take various forms depending on the occasion. Here it is grilled and added to the soup. The zouni is taken in the new year, just after midnight, just before leaving to visit the temples and shrines, and during the first days of the year.
Osechi
As seen in the photos, osechi is many different kind of food packaged in a bento box. There are several bento boxes that fit on over another, and different types of food are grouped according to the bento box. So we have one that is usually included some meat, kamaboko (paste of cold fish), shrimp, seaweed, pickles, grilled fish, marinated salmon, Japanese omelet, mushrooms, and some sweets, for example, mochis. On the other hand we also have many other with fried meat and fish. Everything is eaten, of course, accompanied by rice. Formerly, mothers cooked the osechi, but now many families buy bento boxes in supermarkets.
It can also be combined with zouni, and of course, everything is more delicious with a bit of sake or shochu.
Zenzai
Let's go now for the sweetest part. Zenzai is a Japanese sweet red beans hot soup with mochi. I know that for Western palates, the union of "soup", "sweet" and "hot" does not sound very appealing, but if we overcome the initial prejudices found that the invention is not bad at all.
Kagami mochi
We have already seen that the mochi is a something very versatile, it can be filled or not, eaten in many different ways, cold, hot, as added to other meals ... In this case it is an unfilled mochi, so it is necessary to toast and soften. Once hot and soft, it is poured a little soy sauce and ready to eat. The result is simple, but tasty. Like osechi, it is on sale in supermarkets, but families still prepare at home by hand.
And so far the review to the Japanese New Year's food. As the Japanese culinary culture is closely linked to the season, will occasionally write about the meal eaten in diferent festivities. Bon Appetit!
Comments