January 2025 | Table 22
Happy New Year!
This month’s meal consists of Chef Moe’s favorite Osechi Ryori—Japan’s traditional food served during the New Year’s holidays. The ingredients in these traditional dishes all hold significance and are meant to bring you luck, prosperity, and good health in the coming year.
To Start: Warm Ginger Amazake
Sip on this warm, spiced amazake (non-alcoholic sake) while you are preparing your New Years Dinner.
Allergies: None
Scoop the 2oz portion of amazake mix into a heat-proof mug.
Boil water.
Pour boiling water into mug and stir.
Sip and stay warm!
Dinner: Dashimaki
New Year's is meant to be a day of rest for the fire gods in Japan; this is why everything you eat is meant to be served at room temperature. This Sweet Rolled Omelette is no exception and is often served as a snack or a side in bento boxes for that reason. Due to its resemblance to the scrolled papers, the dish is said to represent a wish for the development of culture and learning.
Allergies: Fish, Egg, Soy
Enjoy at room temperature as is.
Dinner: Ozoni Soup
Perhaps the most iconic Osechi dish in Japan, Ozoni is largely a family affair – you’d be hard pressed to find this on restaurant menus. Since the spirit of Makanai is Japanese home cooking, naturally we had to include it!
Each of the components to ozoni offer a wish for the new year.
Mochi - The round rice cake resembles the moon, which symbolizes good luck. It also is a wish of wealth, good fortune, nourishment, endurance, and strengthening teeth and bones.
Chicken and vegetables - The traditional Japanese words for "chicken and greens" sound similar to "honor and recognition".
Kamaboko (fish cake) - While the red and white color is believed to represent purity (white) and protection (red), the shape resembles the sun at daybreak and represents the new year.
Allergies: Fish, egg, soy
Add all ozoni ingredients (spinach, carrot, daikon radish, fish cake, chicken thigh) except for mochi to a soup bowl.
Toast Mochi in toaster oven or broiler until puffy (~6 minutes @ 400 degrees seems to be the sweet spot for most toaster ovens)
Make Dashi. Place the unopened Kayanoya packet (it looks like a tea bag) and 400ml/13oz of water in a pot and bring it to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer for 2 minutes, then let the packet steep in the water for another 5 before discarding it.
Once Dashi is fully steeped, add Kaeshi.
Add toasted mochi to bowl with the other ozoni ingredients.
Pour hot Dashi-Kaeshi into bowl over ingredients.
Dinner: Osekihan Rice with Adzuki Bean
An essential celebration food, it is Sekihan’s red hue that makes it so festive since the color red is believed to ward off evil spirits and bring happiness and good luck.
Allergies: None
Open the corner of the rice packet + microwave for 2 minutes.
Fluff rice + serve.
Dinner: Chikuzen-Ni
Chikuzen-Ni is a key component of Osechi Ryori, the traditional Japanese New Year’s feast that celebrates the beginning of a new year. It symbolizes family unity and abundance, as it combines various ingredients like chicken and root vegetables simmered together. Each of the ingredients include their own meaning as well.
Allergies: fish, soy
Eat as is or heat in the microwave for 3 minutes if you would prefer this warm.
Take a picture! Send it to us! Toast to the New Year!
Dessert: Ichigo Sweets Kuri Kinton Parfait
Ichigo Sweets decided to dress up the traditional Osechi dessert of mashed sweet potatoes and chestnuts by adding layers of chiffon cake and edible gold flakes. Sweet and slightly nutty, this dish symbolizes good fortune and wealth. Wishing you a prosperous year ahead!
Allergies: Dairy, Eggs
Ready to eat! No shame in eating dessert first.