Ozoni mochi is perfect for whenever you need a pick-me-up dish that offers a unique chewy texture in a tasty soup! This Japanese concoction is believed to bring good luck.
It is a New Year dish that the Japanese eat to get through the cold New Year's Day. However, that doesn't mean you can't eat it all year long!
You don't even have to be in Japan to enjoy this tasty and filling soup, as we'll show you how to make ozoni at home!
Interestingly, different households have their own unique way of preparing this traditional dish. One is not quite like the other, making it even more special.
So here's an opportunity for you to put your own spin on it too. Just read on and let us guide you in making your version of this Japanese delight!
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What is Ozoni?
Ozoni is a traditional Japanese soup that usually contains mochi, vegetables, seafood, and meat. The Japanese traditionally eat this soup in the morning on New Year's Day. The ozoni soup meaning is an offering to the Gods on New Year's Eve to pray for health, prosperity, and happiness.
The tradition began in the Muromachi period (1336-1573) and was believed to bring good luck. However, the dish itself has existed long before that. Samurai families served it as a side dish during banquets for the samurai warriors back in their day.
Each ozoni ingredient's meaning is unique:
- The mochi rice cakes symbolise longevity because of their stretchiness.
- Vegetables or local produce represent a plentiful harvest.
- Chicken meat indicates success.
- Fish roe symbolises fertility.
- Renkon (Lotus root) symbolises the wheel of life.
Ozoni Types
You can find a lot of unique versions of the dish in the different prefectures in Japan. For instance, the Iwate Prefecture uses walnut sauce in the dish. Alternatively, the Nara Prefecture often bakes the new year mochi and mixes white miso with kombu broth. Occasionally, the rice cakes are removed from the soup and dipped in kinako (soybean flour).
In Kagawa prefecture, the rice cakes are filled with bean jam. And similarly, the Tottori Prefecture enjoy it with adzuki red beans. Therefore, they call it 'Adzuki Zoni', and in some regions, people consider it 'Oshiruko' due to their similarity.
A tasty variation of this dish is 'Egg Zoni', which contains egg. You can casually find it in Japanese cake cafes and enjoy it anytime besides New Year.
Kanto and Kansai Style
There are two main styles in the preparation of Ozoni: the Kanto style and the Kansai style.
The eastern side of Japan, such as Tokyo, adopts the Kanto style. Kanto Ozoni has a clear broth made from dashi. Besides that, the Kanto style usually uses square rice cakes representing "defeating bad things".
The Kansai style of Ozoni originates from Kyoto and can also be called Kyoto Ozoni. The western side of Japan also uses this style of making the dish. It has white broth made of miso. Conversely, the Kansai version of the dish incorporates round rice cakes, which brings the meaning of "family happiness".
However, there are also other regional styles, such as Chugoku and Kyushu. Thus, we highly recommend trying as many versions of the soup as possible! Plus, wouldn’t it be a fun adventure to try and eat every single regional Ozoni?
Kyushu vs Kanto
The main difference between Kyushu and Kanto Ozoni is the broth and the toppings adding. For this reason, they also slightly differ in taste.
Kyushu ozoni uses light miso-based broth as its soup while Kanto ozoni has a clear dashi-based broth.
The Kyushu version uses rectangular and square rice cakes that are either toasted or baked. Additionally, this version usually contains a piece of fish as a part of the dish.
On the flip side, the Kanto style does not contain miso. This particular style also includes the addition of kamaboko (steamed fish paste).
Taste
The Ozoni tastes sweet and salty in general. However, you can never precisely describe the flavour since it varies depending on the style and ingredients used.
The ones with white miso soup are more on the sweeter side and are less salty. This is how the Kansai version tastes in general. However, using light miso in the Kyushu style can make it saltier. On the other hand, the Kanto style has a more umami flavour due to the dashi soup base.
Calories
A serving of this special New Year soup has about 100-150 calories depending on its serving size. It is the perfect dish if you ever need a healthy and tasty soup to start off your year!
Ozoni Ingredients
For both Kanto and Kyoto style ozoni, you will need mochi, carrots, daikon, fried tofu skin and leafy greens.
- Ozoni Mochi - You can either make it yourself using our how to make mochi recipe or get pre-made ones from any Asian supermarket.
- Carrots - We suggest getting thicker carrots for pretty cut-outs.
- Daikon radish - You can use regular radish, but we highly suggest using this Japanese radish. Unlike regular radishes, daikon radish has a mild flavour. It is usually white, long, and thick. You can also purchase this from any Asian grocery store near you.
- Aburaage is Japanese fried tofu skins. You can also add silken tofu, if you prefer.
- Mushrooms - Any type of mushroom will work, but we recommend shitake mushrooms.
- Leafy greens - You can make the dish healthier with greens like komatsuna (Japanese spinach) and mitsuba (Japanese parsley).
Kanto ozoni soup broth
To make Kanto ozoni, you will need the following ingredients for the broth:
- Kombu (seaweed) dashi
- Sake or mirin
- Soy sauce
- Salt
Kyushu ozoni soup broth
To make Kyushu ozoni soup broth, you will need the following ingredients:
- Kombu dashi, or dried seaweed
- Miso paste
Substitutes
Dashi substitutes
One of the best substitutes for dashi is mentsuyu. It is made from dashi and other seasonings, which work great for traditional Japanese soup dishes.
However, you shouldn't add too many additional seasonings. Otherwise, the dish would taste too strong. Another good alternative is Shiro-dashi which is very similar to mentsuyu.
Miso paste substitutes
You can use soy sauce to stand in for the salty and savoury miso flavour. However, soy sauce will affect the texture of your dish. This is because miso paste is creamy, yet soy sauce is thin and watery.
Therefore, we recommend substituting ½ tablespoon soy sauce for one tablespoon of miso paste.
You may also use fish sauce to replace miso paste, but this alternative is also watery. It may also give off a more robust flavour than miso.
Sake and Mirin substitutes
You can substitute sake with dry sherry or Chinese rice wine. Besides that, you can also substitute mirin by mixing sake and sugar. The ratio of sake and sugar should be 3:1.
However, you can use water to replace sake if you cannot use alcohol in your cooking. Similarly, the ratio is also 3:1 to replace mirin with water and sugar. You can also get Honteri Mirin by Mizkan, which does not contain alcohol.
Other toppings
Both Kanto and Kansai versions of the dish use Yuzu peel as garnish. It gives a refreshing aroma to the soup!
Other toppings that pair well with Ozoni are kamaboko (steamed Japanese fish cake) and seaweed. You can also add oysters or dried anchovies like Shikoku style to make it Hiroshima style.
Egg as a topping is always a good idea, be it hard-boiled, soft-boiled, or raw. You can also enjoy this new year mochi soup dish with salmon and salmon roe as how they do it in Niigata.
Indeed, you can never go wrong with whatever you choose. Each additional ingredient will surely surprise you with new flavours and textures.
Ozoni Cooking Tips
- Boil ingredients that are hard to cook first. Add the rice cakes once the vegetables are cooked.
- Cook the rice cakes thoroughly if you prefer your rice cakes to melt in your mouth. You can also bake the rice cakes instead of boiling them.
- Buy pre-made mochi to save time in preparing the dish.
- Use a mesh sieve to dissolve the miso to prevent clumps.
- Do not simmer or boil the soup once you've added the miso. Otherwise, it will lose its flavour and nutrients.
- Make the Kanto version of the dish if you want to prepare it in advance. The Kanto soy sauce broth will not lose its flavour quickly over time. However, the miso-based broth will lose nutrients and flavour over time.
- You can re-cook the mochi by adding it to the soup and reheat it for about 1-2 minutes before serving.
How to store
For storage, you can keep the soup in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 2 days. You can also portion it into several containers and freeze them for up to 3 weeks.
If you're adding tofu, make sure you take out the tofu before freezing it. Reheat the soup over medium-low heat in a pot once ready to eat.
Ozoni Recipe (Japanese New Year Mochi Soup)
Ingredients
- 4 mochi rice cakes
- ¼ cup daikon (cut into cubes or flowers)
- ¼ cup carrots (cut into cubes or flowers)
- 3 dried shitake mushrooms
- mitsuba Japanese parsley
- Yuzu peel (for garnish)
For the Kanto-style broth:
- 4 cups dashi broth
- 1 3x3 size kombu
- 2 tbsps soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sake
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Place dried shitake mushroom in a cup of water and let it sit for an hour. Then, drain the excess water from the mushrooms and set it aside. Slice the mushrooms into thin slices afterwards.
- Place all ingredients to make the broth in a pot, including mushrooms, daikon, and carrots. Bring them to a boil and lower the heat.
- Cover the pot. Leave it to simmer for around 8-10 minutes until the daikon is tender.
- Remove the carrots and daikon and set them aside.
- Add the mochi to the pot and continue to cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Let it cook until the mochi is tender.
- Pour the soup and mochi evenly into 4 bowls. Then, place in the carrots, daikon¸ and mitsuba. Garnish with yuzu peel or other preferred toppings.
- Serve and enjoy your Kanto Ozoni!
Video
Notes
- You can keep the mushroom water for future recipes.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.
Easy Ozoni Recipe (Kyushu Style)
Ingredients
- 3 dried shitake mushrooms
- 4 mochi rice cakes toasted or baked
- ¼ cup daikon (cut into cubes or flowers)
- ¼ cup carrots (cut into cubes or flowers)
- A few slices Naruto fish cake (optional)
- Kamaboko (optional)
- Yuzu peel (for garnish)
For the Kyushu Ozoni broth:
- 4 cups water
- 4 tsps kombu dashi
- 4-5 tbsps miso paste
Instructions
- Pour in water and kombu dashi into a medium pot and heat over medium heat. Then, add in carrots, daikon, and mushrooms once it simmers.
- Let the vegetables cook for 5-8 minutes until the daikon is tender. Then, turn off the heat and remove the daikon radish and carrots. Set them aside for later.
- Add miso paste and stir it into the broth until it fully dissolves.
- Place the mochi into the pot and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes until the rice cakes are tender.
- Put the rice cakes, carrots, daikon, and shitake mushrooms into 4 separate bowls. Then, pour in the soup. Garnish with yuzu peel or other preferred toppings.
- Serve and enjoy your Kyushu Ozoni!
Notes
- Soak kombu in hot water overnight if you use dried kombu instead of kombu dashi. Then, use the soaking water as the cooking water.
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.
As you’ve read, this Japanese soup recipe is versatile and welcomes your own twist to it! You can choose to omit and add ingredients that you like to your own homemade version.
Retrouvaille on Youtube made an ozoni video recipe in which he used shimeji mushrooms, Chinee cabbage and green onions. In addition, he also covered some cultural tidbits about this classic dish in his video, which we found interesting! So, do check it out!
We hope you enjoy this unique dish and put your own spin! Don’t forget to share how they come out and tag and follow us on Instagram @honestfoodtalks. And check out the rest of our website for more recipe ideas!
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