Wondering what to try in new year days?
How about trying colorful Osechi-ryori （御節料理）during New Year days.

Traditionally, rice cake soup (Zōni 雑煮) is served on 1st January to celebrate the New Year in Japan. Zōni (雑煮), a soup of mochi rice cakes, the recipe for the soup differs from region to region. Eastern Japan new year soup is in clear broth wheareas in western Japan miso broth is used to prepared the Zōni.

Tokyo-Style New Year’s Soup

Ingredients: (4 servings)

150g chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
1 tsp sake
5cm length white radish (daikon), peeled sliced into rounds then quartered
1/4 carrot, peeled and cut into shpes with vegetables cutter
2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stem discarded, shallow cuts made on caps to form desired pattern
8 slices naruto fish paste cake
4 rice cakes

Dashi:
1 litre water
12cm piece konbu (dried kelp)
30g bonito flakes

Seasoning:
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soy sauce

Garnish:
1 small bunch trefoil (mitsuba), cut into 2cm lengths
1 yuzu rind, cut into fine strips

Preparations:

Prepare dashi. Put water and kelp into a sauce pan and leave for 30 minutes. Place over medium heat and when small bubbles appear from bottom, remove kepl.
When water is boiling, add bonito flakes, then reduce heat and simmer for a few seconds. Remove from heat, then leave until bonito flakes sink to the bottom of saucepan. Strain stock and discard solids.
Marinate chicken with sake for about 10 minutes.
Pour dashi into a pot and bring to a boil. Add chicken, radish, carrot, mushrooms and fish cake. Simmer for about 10 miuntes.
While soup is boiling, grill rice cakes in a preheated oven at 200 C or toaster for 5 ~ 10 minutes until slightly puffy and light brown in colour.
Mix seasoning ingredients together and stir into soup. Remove from heat.
Place a grilled or toasted rice cake into each individual serving bowl and ladle soup over. Garnish with trefoil and yuzu rind. Serve hot.

Tokyo-Style New Year’s Zoni Soup