NOTE: This is a “reprint” of my blog post to Kodak’s previous “A Thousand Words” blog.
In Japan, New Year’s Day is a big holiday – a time for family to gather together and to start the new year off right. As a Japanese American, I still celebrate New Year’s Day with a traditional Japanese New Year’s meal with my relatives every year.
When I was little, I thought that New Year’s Day celebration was that family gathering with some of those strange looking foods, some of which I really did not like too much. As I grow older, I appreciate such family traditions much more. It’s not just about food, it’s about celebrating culture and heritage. It’s also about reliving memories of New Year’s days gone by and creating new memories of the current day. And, it’s about participating in the preparation so that we can pass on the tradition to the next generation.
Some of the foods we eat on New Year’s day include: mochi, kuromame, kazunoko, tazukuri, and ozone soup. Mochi is pounded sweet rice that has been shaped into a round cookie shape form; it is also sometimes cut into rectangles. The Wikipedia entry for mochi shows a picture of two men, one pounding mochi in a traditional mortar. Although it was a long time ago, I’ve actually made mochi that way with my relatives! The fellow on the left side of the picture, who is holding the mallet, pounds on the rice in the mortar with a big swing while the fellow on the right side of the photo dips his hand in water (to reduce sticking to the rice!) and folds the working mochi over, in between the first fellow’s swings. (The second fellow has to work fast or he will get into trouble!) It’s quite a sight to see in person. Today, my family still makes mochi every year, but we now use a modern day machine. You can actually buy such a mochi maker machine at Amazon. I like to eat my mochi with kinako (toasted soy bean flour), which has been sweetened with sugar. You can also eat mochi with sugar and soy sauce, or by dropping small pieces of mochi into ozone soup. My mom has always told us that mochi has to be the first thing that we eat on New Year’s Day, for good luck.
Kuromame – black beans boiled in syrup – are eaten for good health. Kazunoko is herring roe, but the eggs are not loose; it symbolizes procreation or a wish for fertility. Tazukuri, which is made with small sardines, symbolizes a good harvest. In addition to these dishes, we also have plenty of sushi, sashimi, teriyaki chicken and other goodies.
Every year, I think about making a cookbook full of pictures, traditional recipes and lots of family stories. New online services like Lulu and Blurb are making it simple for everyday people like you and me to create such types of books. Maybe 2007 will be the year that I actually complete the “cookbook” project!
Happy New Year to you and your family – may it start and be filled with lots of love, joy and plenty of “Kodak moments!”