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－Zouni－

Japanese New Year, shogatsu, one of the most important holidays in Japan, is from January 1st to the 3rd during which many special dishes are prepared.

Osechi ryori, various dishes packed in layers of lacquer boxes, is one of the main dishes that are enjoyed during this season with each dish representing everything from good health to happiness.

Another dish that represents the Japanese New Year is zouni, a rice cake soup. Like osechi ryori, zouni ingredients vary depending on the region such as the shape and size of rice cake (mochi) used, and the soup base which can either be miso, soy sauce, or azuki bean.

Some commonly used ingredients in addition to rice cake are fish, chicken, or meat balls, and leaf vegetables such as spinach, Japanese mustard spinach (komatsuna), or Japanese wild parsley (mitasuba).

A wide variety of other ingredients are added to make the dish more visually colorful such as shitake mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, carrot, burdock, green onion, daikon radishes, fish paste, quail egg, and seaweed. Some regions use taro and tofu instead of rice cake