NIC Quick Recipes # 9  Ozoni お雑煮

For the Japanese, a new year doesn’t begin without ozoni. Ozoni is a simple soup dish containing mochi (rice cake), but the ingredients, taste and even the shape of mochi varies depending on the region or who you ask. For example, in Niigata, the soup is full of vegetables and fish, and grilled, square-shaped mochi is used. In Kyoto, the soup is miso based, and round-shaped mochi is used. Here is the Nagoya version of the recipe; it is very simple and easy to prepare. For the start of a new year in Japan, try this local ozoni!   

 Ingredients (serves 4)

• 8 pieces of square mochi

• 100g of komatsuna*

• a little more than 1 liter of water

• 30g of hana-katsuo

• 4 teaspoons of soy sauce

• Some hana-katsuo (dried bonito-tuna flakes) for topping

• 3 teaspoons of cooking sake

• 1 or 2 pinches of salt

*Komatsuna is a spinach-like, green vegetable. You can also use spinach instead.

 How to Make

1. Put the water in a pot and bring it to a boil.

2. Put the hana-katsuo in the pot and turn off the heat.

3. Place a thin cotton towel over a strainer and strain the water. You now have dashi water.

4. Wash the komatsuna and cut it into 5cm pieces.

5. Boil the dashi water in a pot and add the soy sauce, cooking sake, and salt. When it starts to boil, put in the mochi and komatsuna. Cook until the mochi gets soft.

6. Put in a bowl and sprinkle some hana-katsuo on top before serving.