INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

C       T  salt Gail some time ago you requested some information about
Ozoni the Japanese National Dish for New Years. There are probably as many
recipes for Zoni as there are cooks busy preparing the dish but they are
all fairly similar. Slice the chicken very thin and sprinkle with the
cornstarch. Then pound the chicken with the back of a knife to enlarge the
pieces. Boil in water for 5 minutes Slice the Kamaboko into 6 pieces 1/4
inch thick Slice the carrot into thin slices and after peeling the taro
slice them into thin round slices. Boil the carrots and taro in 1/2 C of
dashi. When soft add 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp shoyu. Boil the spinach or
watercress in hot water being sure to remove them from the boiling water
when still very green. Cut the greens into 1 inch lengths. Slice the Yazu
into thin strips to represent pine needles. Toast the Rice cakes. Boil 6
cups of dashi and flavor with the 1 tbs. salt and the 1 Tbs. shoyu. Add the
Kamaboko, carrots , taro and the greens. Place two pieces of the toasted
Mochi, two slices of the chicken, 1 slice of the carrot, 2 slices of taro,
1 slice of the kamaboko and a little of the greens in each of six bowls
Pour the hot soup over them and then float the yazu needles on the top.
Naturally any good Japanese family in Japan would have had a drink of the
special TOSO wine prior to the Zoni. With the master of the house drinking
first, then the mistress followed by the children and the the servants
last. This wine laced with medicinal herbs and spices is believed to have
disease dispelling qualities and is similar to the wines served on New
Years by several other countries in the world. Fuku-cha is another
manditory item in their New Years (it is the tea of Good fortune) and can
either be green tea or seaweed tea which is served in tiny cups with a
pickled plum in each of the cups as a protection from illness during the
coming year. These formal ritualistic observances of the New Year are
becomming less common throughout Japan now that they have had so much of
the Western influence however in the rural areas they are still followed
religiously. It is a shame to see some of these interesting observences
gradually disappearing due to the influence of the western world.
:         Aloha.....Kapena FROM:    THEODORE SEDGWICK
(XPST31A)

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