new year

Mochi with brown butter, green onions and nori

All about mochi and New Year's in the Japan Times, plus a ruinous-to-your-waistline buttery mochi recipe.

Filed under:  japanese new year holidays mochi writing elsewhere japan times

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How to make fresh mochi, or pounded rice, at home, with ease, and without a mochi making machine.

Filed under:  japanese rice new year holidays washoku mochi

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Happy New Year! I wanted to post this a little earlier, but better late than never I hope!

During the New Year holiday period, traditionally rice is not cooked, to give a rest to the cook. Instead, dried mochi cakes were used as the carbohydrate. Ozouni (お雑煮 おぞうに), which literally means 'mixed stew', is a soup with mochi cakes in it. There is no one set recipe, and there are lots of regional variations. This one is a simple Kanto (Tokyo area) style ozouni, the way my mother makes it. It's very simple, not to mention economical - just clear soup, greens, chicken and mochi. Garnish is optional.

Filed under:  japanese chicken new year holidays mochi

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Mochitsuki photo by Ivva

Filed under:  food travel japanese uk new year holidays

img: a hot and steamy bowl of soba noodles to end the year

Revised and updated: This recipe for Toshikoshi Soba, or Year-End Soba, traditionally eaten in Japan on New Year's Eve, is one of the earliest recipes posted on Just Hungry. I've expanded the directions so that you can use various methods for making the soup. Originally posted December 30, 2003.

Filed under:  japanese noodles favorites new year soba washoku

I love Christmas celebrations, and Thanksgiving when I'm in the U.S., but the holiday that has the most memories for me is New Years. This is the biggest holiday celebrated in Japan.

Filed under:  japanese winter memories new year

Happy new year!

Last night, we had two favorites for our little New Year's Eve party - blini with caviar and smoked salmon, with a local speciality called Blauacher Chlöpfmoscht.

Filed under:  party food swiss new year pastry