Around O-shogatsu, a few Japanese New Year specialties…

MOCHI

Mochi is Japanese New Year and Japanese New Year is mochi.
These blocks of pounded sticky rice are made in this season and used as a decoration and as food.

mochi 101
my display of kagami mochi

A soup is made with mochi. There are many very different regional or familial recipes, many lovely original ingredients…

O-zoni (mochi soup), colorful
O-zoni, Kyoto style

Soba
Noodles eaten to pass the year and symbolize continuity.

toshikiri soba (2011, explanation)
toshikiri soba (2012)
toshikiri soba (2012)

Osechi Ryori, New-Year good luck dishes are old style dishes whose names, colors or shapes are linked with good things. Most of it is prepared a few days in advance with many different ingredients and displayed in big lacquer boxes.

Here is an example of home-made full menu :

the lacquer box
the Osechi menu 2011
kuri kinton
kuro mame
Osechi 1 : kazu no ko
Osechi 2 : kintoki ninjin and daikon for namasu
Osechi 3 : building a rice paddy
Osechi 4 : kohaku kamaboko fish cakes
Osechi 5 : chicken matsukaze
Osechi 6 : the vegetable box
Osechi 7 : tamago mosaic
omedetai, lucky grilled fish

Tai-meshi, a meal with Osechi leftovers

A tradition for January 7th

7 herb day
nanagusa okayu (7th day soup)

Little New-Year, women’ New Year… it’s a little forgotten.

okayu for Koshogatsu

And to finish with the mochi :

breaking the New Year mochi (done around January 15th)

Japanese New-Year count down (-1)

We arrive at the last step of preparations for the Japanese New Year Osechi Ryouri.
You were thinking there were only small bits and no big piece. That’s true in a way. Japanese meal favor the variety. The more items the biggest luxury.
But there is something else. A roast… well a grilled fish.

Shio-yaki tai (salt grilled tai fish)

Making a traditional meal of Japanese Osechi (New Year good luck food). That was an experiment and I had a lot of fun doing it. As usual, don’t look for perfection. I am no expert…

Japanese New-Year count down (-5)

Let’s continue our walk to the Japanese New Year meal with something sweet… You can call it a dessert, but the concept is ignored in traditional Japanese meals, particularly Osechi Ryori. Sweet, savory, savory-sweet are presented together…

Kurikinton , a chestnut treat.

Well there are homonyms… kuri kinton and kuri kinton
When I came to Japan, I first saw the New Year Osechi Ryori kuri kinton 栗金団, and well, when I hear the name, I think of this kind. “kin” means gold, and well, for simple brains like mine, it looks like it :

Ideas for a Sweet Xmas – Gâteaux de Noël

(Osaka cake)

You probably think I’m big fan of Christmas. Actually, I couldn’t care less, it’s only the bottom of the year, the time with the shortest days. What I really like is there are so many Christmas food, particularly sweets, from so many places.
It’s fun to try to make them.

Snow-flake

Kurisumasu keeki 2012

charlotte kurisumasu keeki

rose cranberry panettone

Easy Yule logs :

bûche forêt noire

bûche aux marrons glacés

The tradition of Provence with the 13 desserts :

13 retro desserts

honey walnut iced nougat

These cakes are not only for this occasion, but many like to invite them :

snow flake cake

Marquises au chocolat

Gâteau Mont-Blanc antillais (coconut layered cake)

With the coffee, you need many mignardises :

Schwowebredele (the traditional Xmas cookie of Alsace, make them in many shapes and flavor)

black sugar nonnettes (yeast)
Mandarin orange nonnettes (baking powder)

Hot wine revisited :

jelly spiced wine pears

lait de poule (French eggnog)

This is what we have in Japan :

kurisumasu ke-ki (how to bake a Japanese Xmas cake)

Ichigo daifuku mochi (Winter wagashi)

kuri kinton (marron sweet)

Over the world :

Bibingka (Philippines)

Povitica (Slovenia)

home-made mandarin Stollen (Germany)

Chionoules or snowballs (Greece)

*************************************

I have not made these two, I’ve just received them. The white is of course a German Stollen.

Berawecka (Alsacian “pear bread”, fruit cake). I’m very serious. It’s very healthy. It’s mostly made of fruit like those “health fruit bars” I see on many health blogs.

I had to check the quality. You want to know ? Of course, that’s totally decadent and not healthy at all. Mmmmm… Well, I’ll try to keep some for Christmas.

Gold and Chestnuts – Another kuri kinton (via GiO)

It’s a soft-textured dessert. The recipe used for New Year is different. As the season is over, they paste chestnuts that are preserved in syrup and colored with a dry kuc…