Why the New Yr in Japan Begins With a Warming Bowl of Mochi Soup

I grew up in a giant, busy metropolis known as Mito, north of Tokyo. The week earlier than New Yr’s, my mom would put together osechi ryori, assorted chilly dishes for sharing with kin and mates dropping by to want us a cheerful new 12 months. However on the primary day of the brand new 12 months, no person drops by — it’s a day households spend collectively. And it’s on that first day that you just make one thing scorching: ozoni, a particular New Yr’s soup with a dashi or miso broth, greens, and a bit of meat or fish cake, topped with grilled mochi.

My mom did many of the cooking in our family, however my father at all times made the ozoni. He was an accountant and had his workplace hooked up to the home. In it, he had a gasoline area heater, and he would grill the mochi on the highest of the heater. I keep in mind being in second and third grade and the way a lot I cherished what my father was doing, and the way I cherished watching as he cooked. My mom would heat up dashi broth and a few carrots and a few yam or potato, ending it with a bit of soy sauce. When the mochi completed grilling, my father introduced it to our facet of the home, and we’d all get served. 

Once I was in my 20s, I got here to america and bought married and began my family. I started making ozoni for my youngsters and my spouse each New Yr’s at our house in Chicago. I don’t make osechi ryori — it’s a whole lot of work! — however I at all times make ozoni. I comply with my father’s guidelines: I at all times use sq. mochi. The protein is rooster. There might be carrots, typically taro root, shiitake mushrooms, and a bit of little bit of spinach for colour. It’s the very first thing we eat on New Yr’s Day. You get up a bit of bit late since you had been up late, and it’s the primary meal of the 12 months. Most of us eat ours out of a miso bowl, however my son at all times says, “Dad, I wish to have extra,” so I serve his in a ramen bowl. 

Ozoni itself could be very easy. It’s very delicate, not spicy, not salty. It’s not difficult to prepare dinner; it doesn’t name for sophisticated culinary method. However for me, and most Japanese folks, a lot reminiscence is concerned — everyone has a narrative about ozoni, about how, after they had been a toddler, they spent a very powerful day of the 12 months with their mom and father. In case you ask 10 Japanese folks, 10 completely different tales will come again to you. For me, it jogs my memory of my father spending a bit of little bit of time with me after I was baby. 

Ozoni isn’t on a regular basis meals. It’s not even a once-a-week factor — it’s a once-a-year dish. And yearly you make it, issues are a bit of bit completely different, one thing new is occurring. So I wish to keep on with the identical means of constructing it every time, and with my father’s reminiscence. Ozoni isn’t a inventive dish, however I wish to hold it that means. It makes me really feel an appreciation of the place I come from.