Happy new year!

What do you eat on New Year’s Day?

In  Japan, we have rice cake-soup called ‘Ozouni’ and New Year’s dishes called ‘Osechi’ on New Year’s Day.

 

 

 

 

Rice cake-soup has a lot of types. In Kanto area people have a square shaped rice cake and clear soup.While, in Kansai area people have a round shaped rice cake and miso-soup in it. Ingredients vary from one locality to another. For example, some prefectures that face the Japan Sea are famous for seafood so they have fish or shellfish and others that have mountains use food from mountain as ingredients for Ozoni.

Osechi’s ingredients have a variety of meanings to suggest good fortune for the New year.

This is herring eggs called ‘Kazunoko’ in Japanese. Herring lays number of eggs at one time, so Kazunoko has traditionally been eaten to pray for the prosperity of descendants on Japanese New Year’s Day.

This is smashed sweet potatoes with sweetened chestnuts called ‘Kurikinton’. People eat it wishing a rice and wealthy year because it looks like gold treasure.

If you are interested in Osechi or Ozouni, please try to cook or taste it!

We wish you a wonderful happy new year!