Do you like Sushi (すし)? Do you like Sashimi (さしみ)? Do you like Udon (うどん)? All of those are Japanese food. You might know other Japanese food that you can enjoy your local Japanese restaurants. Some health magazines sometimes feature Japanese food so you could cook at home! Usually Japanese food uses a lot of fresh green vegetables in season. No wonder it is regarded as “healthy.”
Well, today’s topic is Zoni (ぞうに) – Chicken, bamboo shoot, fish paste (かまぼこ), mitsuba (みつば), and rice cake (もち）in soysauce (しょうゆ) based soup. This is a celebration food at the beginning of the year. Depending on where you live in Japan, soysauce is replaced with bean paste (みそ). Or something else. Ingredients might be totally different from region to region because the Japanese use local ingredients to make Zoni, not from cans!!
Anyway, my younger son loves rice cake so much that he keeps asking me to make Zoni regardless of seasons! Well, they say, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” So, I make Zoni probably every other month. There is, however, one flaw in my Zoni. I cannot find mitsuba locally, so I cannot but replace that with ciantlo. Ciantlo smells closest to mitsuba. Now you know what mitsuba means. It’s a plant added to Zoni to give Zoni a certain flavor.
Al those ingredients and 2 hours will be enough to make Zoni for the family. Voila!
Please write to me if you want my recipe for Zoni. OK?
