Ozoni Zoni for Japanese New Year

Ozoni is a special soup with mochi (rice cake) in it that you eat in the morning on New Year’s Day in Japan. We decorate the house with mochi to dedicate to the New Year, and eat it to celebrate and hope for a good year. We have a big meal called osechi along with ozoni, but we’ll talk about that some other time.

Although we made Kansai-style (as usual), ozoni is different region by region, and also household by household. Clear fish broth is preferred in some areas, like Tokyo and Osaka, but miso-based soup is eaten in Kyoto or some parts of Shikoku. The kind of mochi used is different, too. Square baked mochi, round fresh and soft mochi, or even mochi with anko (sweet red beans) inside could be used in ozoni.

Vegetables and meats in ozoni also vary depending on where you are from. Local products are often used because they are abundant. After all, ozoni is an Old World food that was cooked just from what you had long before convenient transportation. However, typical ingredients are chicken, some fish, shrimp, kamaboko (fish cake) and winter vegetables like Daikon radish and carrots. Mitsuba, sometimes called Japanese parsley, adds color and refreshing flavor to the soup, but if you can’t find it use green onion instead.

By / Photography By | November 26, 2019

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4 Serving(s)
Dashi (fish broth)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 (4- by 2-inch) strip of kombu
  • 1 cup bonito flakes, loosely packed (leave out to make vegan dashi)
Ozoni*
  • 3 cups dashi (recipe at left)
  • ½ cup daikon radish, thin slices
  • ½ cup carrot, thin slices
  • 8 slices kamaboko (Japanese fish cake)
  • 8 mochi
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sake
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon salt
  • 8 snow peas, blanched
  • ½ cup whole mushrooms (shiitake, shimeji or oyster)
  • 4 mitsuba (wild Japanese parsley), coarsely chopped (or chopped green onlio)
Optional Additions
  • 4 shrimp, cooked
  • 4 ounces (4 slices) salmon, cooked
  • ½ cup thinly sliced salsify (a root veggie sometimes known as scorzonera)

Preparation

Dashi (fish broth)

Put water and kombu in saucepan. Heat to just before boiling. Remove kombu. Add bonito flakes and boil for 2–3 minutes. Remove from heat. Strain broth through cheesecloth. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Ozoni*

Heat dashi in a pot over medium flame and add daikon radish, carrot and kamaboko. Cook until vegetables become tender.

Meanwhile, bake mochi in a toaster oven at 400° for about 5 minutes, until the mochi has expanded and browned.

Season soup with soy sauce, sake and salt.

To serve, place baked mochi in soup bowl and pour in hot soup. Add snow peas, mushrooms and any optional additions. Sprinkle with mitsuba or green onion to garnish.

*Most ingredients can be found at Whole Foods and your local Asian grocery store.

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4 Serving(s)
Dashi (fish broth)
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 (4- by 2-inch) strip of kombu
  • 1 cup bonito flakes, loosely packed (leave out to make vegan dashi)
Ozoni*
  • 3 cups dashi (recipe at left)
  • ½ cup daikon radish, thin slices
  • ½ cup carrot, thin slices
  • 8 slices kamaboko (Japanese fish cake)
  • 8 mochi
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sake
  • ¼ – ½ teaspoon salt
  • 8 snow peas, blanched
  • ½ cup whole mushrooms (shiitake, shimeji or oyster)
  • 4 mitsuba (wild Japanese parsley), coarsely chopped (or chopped green onlio)
Optional Additions
  • 4 shrimp, cooked
  • 4 ounces (4 slices) salmon, cooked
  • ½ cup thinly sliced salsify (a root veggie sometimes known as scorzonera)