Ozooni (おぞうに) soup is the typical dish Japanese people consume during the week of New Years.  The most common dish consumed is a soup called ozooni (おぞうに).  Ozooni (おぞうに) soup consists of miso (みそ) which is a type of Japanese paste, mashed potatoes with sweetened chestnuts called kurikinton (くりきんとん) and a type of burdock root called kinpira goboo (きんぴらごぼう).  Every region in Japan has a different way of making ozooni (おぞうに) soup.

Some people like to replace miso (みそ) with a clear soup stock called sumashi-jiro (すましーる).  Oftentimes ozooni (おぞうに) soups will contain mochi (もち) or rice cakes cut into rectangles.  Sometimes instead of mochi (もち) people prefer to put toofu (とうふ) instead.  Toofu (とおふ) is a soft, gelatin-type bean curd mixed with soy milk.  Ozooni (おぞうに) also contains a type of parsley called mitsuba (みつば).  As for other vegetables, it’s common to see komatsuna (コマツナ) or a type of spinach in ozooni (おぞうに) soup.

Don’t forget the fruits!  Oh yes, ozooni (おぞうに) soup can also contain a fruit called yuzu (ゆず).  A yuzu (ゆず) looks a lot like an orange but it tastes bitter than an orange.  Also, there’s some meat in the soup as well.  Beef and chicken are the most common options.  Lastly, on the very top, it’s customary to sprinkle some shichimichi (しちみち).  Shichimichi (しちみち) can be translated as seven flavored chili pepper.  Shichimichi (しちみち) contains some yuzu (ゆず), ginger, seasame seed, seaweed, sansho (さんしょ), shiso (しそ), and nanohana (なのはな).  Sansho (さんしょ) is a type of pepper, shiso (しそ) is a type of mint leaf, while nanohana (なのはな) is a type of seed.

Now, all that’s left to do is to enjoy it!  If you want to try something that has a lot of interesting ingredients and healthy for you as well, I suggest you try some ozooni (おぞうに) soup.  This is a one-stop dish that allows you to taste so many ingredients in one dish!  I gotta go, but stay tuned for some more popular foods consumed during the New Years celebrations.

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