The first meal of the first day of the new year, for as far back as I can remember, has always been zoni (雑煮). It is a dish that consists of three basics: broth, vegetables and mochi (餅). The broth is typically dashi (出汁) which is a clear, light soup made from boiling kelp and bonito flakes. Any assortment of vegetables can be used; sometimes even proteins such as fish balls are thrown in for extra measure. Mochi is a glutinous ball made from pounding rice or rice flour with water to a glue-like consistency. It can be eaten fresh or boiled, baked, toasted or fried. I like them lightly baked before dropping them into the zoni. As kids, my brother and I were told that we were supposed to eat as many mochi as the number of our years. However, after the age of 5 or 6, that becomes an impossible proposition. Mochi is extremely filling and has been known as a choking hazard, especially for folks who don't chew properly before they swallow!
Over a period of 2-3 days, I set about preparing various traditional Japanese dishes to celebrate the new year. Generally speaking, Japanese cuisine is quite simple: the number of ingredients are quite spare and the cooking processes are elemental (marinate, boil, fry, bake/roast). The refinement lies in the orderly sequence of steps required to achieve the desired result, as well as the emphasis on presentation.Take, for instance, the chrysanthemum turnip. A medium-sized turnip must be selected for its shape. It is then peeled then sliced into 1" segments. The best slice is further carved up carefully into a checkered grid. The turnip is pickled overnight until it is as soft and malleable as fabric. It is then drained and flattened out evenly to resemble a chrysanthemum. I used ruby-like flying fish roe to garnish the center of my "flower", then placed some salad greens around it to mimic its leaves.
Nothing about it is terribly complicated, but every step must be executed with elegance and care for the final dish to look (and taste) right.Lacking a grill, I broiled some large, skewered shrimp with a simple glaze made of soy sauce and mirin. The skewers not only look great, but also make it easy to flip over the shrimp each time you brush them with the glaze. Keeping an eye on it is the only requirement for avoiding the kind of rubbery blobs that garnish too many shrimp cocktails. I like a little bit of charring on the edges for some flavor.
My favorite example of culinary simplicity was the broiled/grilled tofu with a salty-sweet white miso glaze. After skewering slabs of medium-firm tofu like popsicles, they were brushed with soy sauce and broiled on each side until they dried out a little and became slightly crispy on the outside. (Note: a grill would be ideal since they'd leave appetizing grill marks on the tofu.) The thick glaze was made separately, combining white miso (other types of miso would work too), a touch of water, lemon juice and a sweetening agent such as sugar or mirin. The glaze was slathered generously onto the tofu then broiled briefly until slightly browned. I emphasize "briefly" because I got a phone call while doing this and my fire alarm went off almost immediately when the glaze started to smoke. It would have also been prudent to soak the skewers in water longer before using them in the oven. (Coulda, woulda, shoulda... I'm not always sensible.) Grated lemon rind makes a nice garnish, particularly since it brings out the lemon notes in the glaze.
By assembling a large assortment of simple dishes and ingredients, I was able to pack the traditional tiered-box or jubako (重箱) with a variety of flavors and colors.I filled the first tier with water chestnuts, flying fish roe, marinated wild mushrooms, snap peas, the broiled shrimp, herring roe or kazunkoko (数の子) on kelp, dried baby anchovies or chirimenjako (縮緬雑魚), salty-sweet roasted pecans glazed with soy sauce and mirin, battered and fried calamari balls or takoyaki (たこ焼き), and grated daikon or daikon-oroshi (大根おろし) seasoned with lemon juice and soy sauce.
The second tier was filled with larger servings. I made a smoked salmon and pickled cucumber salad seasoned with sesame oil and capers (to be truly Japanese, I would normally make this with sashimi slices instead of smoked salmon and include umeboshi (梅干) or pickled plums in the dressing). I also pickled some lemon and daikon (大根のレモン風味漬け) and seasoned it with some yuzu-flavored hot chili flakes. I lightly seared some lovely slices of salt-cured salmon (leaving the middle still soft and pink). And boiled turnips were served with the miso glaze from the tofu dish (it has many uses!) and garnished with grated lemon rind.
With a steaming bowl of rice, I had all of the above for dinner on New Year's Day. It looks like a lot but it's not like stuffing yourself with turkey and mashed potatoes. One can go through most of this feeling sated, not ready to blow. Admittedly, it takes time to assemble so many different pieces but the net result is like a Spanish tapas or a buffet -- your eyes and your palate are entertained by the wide variety in textures and flavors. It's a good time to contemplate the flavors to be explored in the new year.Happy new year to all of you!
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