Whether it's sweet or savory, zōni soup is a new year mainstay
For centuries, mochi rice cakes have been a part of festive occasions in Japan, especially during the new year holidays. A hearty zōni soup is one classic way to incorporate mochi into your new year meal.
Don't go to the store, make your own New Year's feast instead
The style of osechi (New Year's food) that is popular today is an array of salty, sweet or sour foods made in advance to give the cook of the house a break during the New Year period.
The flexibility of 'osechi ryori,' Japan's traditional New Year's food
During the New Year's holidays, many Japanese eat osechi ryōri, a collection of traditional foods developed during the Heian Period (794-1185). It originally consisted of fish or vegetables simmered in soy sauce and sweet mirin but, as the years passed, other foods were incorporated ...
Sukiyaki, Japan's other New Year's meal
Late last December I went to a Tokyo branch of my favorite butcher shop, Ningyocho Imahan, to buy some meat to make a roast beef for my family's New Year's meal. When I arrived I was surprised to discover an hourlong wait to order. ...
'Kuri': The nutty staple of ancient Japan
Fresh chestnuts are one of the few things in Japan that are truly seasonal and not available year-round like so many other food products these days. Chestnuts (kuri in Japanese) have been consumed here since prehistoric times. Charred chestnuts that are more than 9,000 ...
Ring in the new year with refinement
The quintessential washoku, or traditional Japanese cuisine dish, is nimono — vegetables and other ingredients simmered in a broth of dashi stock, sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce or miso. Nimono can be made in advance and served warm or cold, saving the cook ...
Wearing kimono, getting together with family and friends, and not working for the first three days of a new year. Shogatsu, or New Year's, is when Japanese generally work less than the rest of the world. It is also the time to follow long-standing traditions ...
