New Year Feast - Japanese Style

New Year is one of the most traditional and celebrated holidays in Japan. For the first three days, we eat special meal called Osechi. Wives cook Osechi (most ingredients stay good for a week) by the end of a year so they can rest and enjoy the new year without cooking. Nowadays, less people cook Osechi at home since it takes time and younger generations don't enjoy the dishes. It is also due to the decrease of large-size families. When I was a kid, family and relatives gathered in one house and celebrated the new year. But today, many family is formed by a few members. Osechi requires a labor intensive cooking and it makes no sense to cook a small portion. Most people chose a easier way and buy from stores.

Meanwhile, many people still make and eat Ozoni (rice cake in clear soup), another traditional New Year dish. I had my friends over and shared this Japanese tradition. Mochi (rice cake) is one of the few things not appreciated by Western people, along with natto (fermented soy beans). So I prepared udon noodle to replace Mochi for our Western guests. A few tried Mochi, and they didn't seem to LOVE it.

Pic: In the soup is Mochi, kamaboko (fish cake), snap bean, daikon radish, carrot, chicken.

From the left: Daikon radish pickles with Uzu citrus flavor; Arugula (normally spinach) and Shitake mushroom; Daikon radish and carrot pickles; Root veggie stew.

Here are some of the dishes/foods included in Osechi and their meanings:

Shrimp: Wish for longevity, to live long until our back bend like shrimp.
Herring roe: For having many kids and prosperity through the family.
Sweet chestnuts: The character in the dish name "kin-ton" means gold; wish for prosperous business and life.
Black beans: Beans sounds "mame" in Japanese; word play that wishes for hardworking and healthy life; black is considered protecting from evil.
Fish cake: Red and white is a color of celebration in Japan; whte fish used to be luxurious food.
Konbu Seaweed: It plays with the sound "kobu" with "yoro-kobu," which means happiness and joy.
Lotus root: Wish for a year with good foresight as the vegetable has holes.
Caramelized dried sardine: Wish for a good harvest; small sardines were used as fertilizer for fields.