New Year's Recipe

Hello from Philly! We had snow early this morning but now the sun is shining.

In Japan, Jan 7 is called "New Year's Day for Women"
In older time around New Year's Days, we had the custom to visit house of your relatives, friends, bosses, or professors. So women had to work to welcome them with gorgeous dinner even during new year's holidays. Around 7th of January, men started working and not around house during daytime, so finally it was the time for women to rest and enjoy relaxing holiday.

Today I introduce you "Zouni", a japanese soup we eat at New year's.
What interesting about this dish is every family has quite different recipe depend on their roots.
My family is from Nagasaki prefecture, and we use so many winter veges, chicken, yellowtail, and toasted mochi(rice cake) with shiitake mushroom broth.
But in Tokyo prefecture where i was grown up, it's normally made with chicken, mitsuba harb, mochi with soy broth, and in Kyoto prefecture they use only mochi and mitsuba harb with white miso paste.

So it's always been interesting for me to visit friends house and had this dish.

Zouni Soup
Ingredients
For Topping
chicken thigh boneless....2 pieces per person
satoimo(Japanese taro potato)......2 pieces per person, peel and wash with water
burdock......2 pieces per person, peel the skin, wash well, then cut in the shape of stick
japanese radish.......one slice per person, peel and cut in round slices
carrot.....2-3 pieces per person, peel and cut
napa cabbage....2-3 pieces per person, cut in moderate size
dried shiitake mushroom.....at least 4 at total, soak in 8 cups of water in a bowl for one night.
                                         Keep the water for broth. Cut off the stem of shiitake.
mochi(rice cake)......1 piece per person.
                               (this could be difficult to get, but you can find at japanese grocery store)

For Broth
shiitake broth you made
Japanese Sake(ginjo)......1 cup
salt......2 table spoon
*adjust as you like

1.Boil water in a pot, add salt.(1/2 cup of salt per 1L(35 fluid Oz).
2. Add chicken in the pot, then satoimo and burdock.Skim the scum, then add carots and radish. Keep skiming the scum.
3. Prepare broth. Pour the broth and shiitake in another pot. Boil the broth, skim the scam until it become clear.
4.  Add Soy sauce, sake and salt. Try the tase and adjust as you like.
5. Add nappa cabage in the pot of veges
5. Toast mochi in a toaster at 300F. When it expand and become slightly golden, turn off the toaster.
6. In a soup bowl, put a slice of radish in the bottom.
7. Put mochi on the radish, then other veges including shiitake mushroom and chicken.
8. Pour broth in the bowl.

Itadakimasu!!(Bon Appetite!!)

This dish is not so complecated, but you can experience the real taste of Japanese broth.
Some ingredients are not sold at regular american grocery store, but if you go to Japanese or Chinese store you can find everything you need.
The veges used in this dish are winter veges. They are full of vitamins and minerals, warm your body up.

Please try :)