Edo Ozōni (江戸雑煮, Tokyo-style New Year soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Medium pot for dashi
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Small pot for blanching greens
• •Toaster oven, broiler, or yakimono grill for the mochi
• •Lacquer soup bowls

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the dashi

   Wipe the konbu lightly with a damp cloth, but don't scrub it clean. The pale bloom on the surface is flavor, not dirt. Put the konbu and cold water in a pot and warm it slowly over low heat, about ten minutes, until small bubbles begin to climb the sides. Lift the konbu out before the water boils. Boiling it pulls out bitterness and muddies the clean taste this soup depends on.

   You're steeping the konbu. The slower rise gives the water time to take sweetness and body without taking the kelp's harsh edge.
2. 2

   Add the flakes

   Bring the konbu stock just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and immediately take the pot off the heat. Let the flakes sink for two or three minutes without stirring. Strain through a cloth-lined sieve and let the dashi drip by itself. Don't squeeze. Squeezing forces strong, cloudy flavors into a broth that should stay bright.

3. 3

   Prepare the greens

   Bring a small pot of water to a boil and blanch the komatsuna for about one minute, just until the stems turn vivid green and the leaves soften. Rinse briefly in cold water, squeeze gently, and cut into 2-inch lengths. Blanching keeps the greens clean-tasting and prevents their raw edge from taking over the clear broth.

4. 4

   Season the chicken

   Toss the chicken pieces with the sake and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then let them sit for ten minutes. This small rest seasons the meat before it enters the soup and helps it stay neat in the broth. If any surface moisture gathers, pat the pieces lightly dry.

5. 5

   Simmer the soup

   Return the clear dashi to a clean pot. Add the soy sauce, mirin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then taste. It should be savory and clear, not heavy. Add the chicken and carrot slices and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and the carrot is tender, about five minutes. Skim any foam that rises, because foam clouds both the look and the flavor.

6. 6

   Grill the mochi

   While the soup simmers, grill or toast the kirimochi until the outside blisters in spots and the center swells and softens, five to eight minutes depending on your heat. Use a toaster oven, broiler, or yakimono grill. Grilling keeps the edges fragrant and leaves the broth clear; simmering the mochi in the soup would turn the dashi cloudy.

7. 7

   Assemble the bowls

   Set one piece of grilled mochi into each warm soup bowl. Add a small bundle of komatsuna, one carrot slice, and a slice of kamaboko if using. Ladle the hot clear broth and chicken around them, not over them carelessly. Finish each bowl with one strip of yuzu peel. The yuzu goes in last because its fragrance is quick and bright, and it fades if boiled.

Chef Tips

• •Use square kirimochi for Edo ozōni. Round mochi belongs beautifully to other regions, especially in western Japan, but the square piece is part of this bowl's city grammar.
• •Komatsuna is the right green here: sturdy, clean, and very Kanto. Spinach can stand in when you must, but blanch it well and squeeze it gently so its mineral taste doesn't darken the broth.
• •Don't season the soup like a stew. Ozōni should taste clear first, then lightly salty. If it feels thin, strengthen the dashi next time rather than chasing depth with more soy sauce.
• •Yuzu peel should be all yellow skin with the bitter white pith trimmed away. One narrow strip is enough. New Year fragrance is not a perfume counter.
• •For a meatless table, make the stock with konbu and dried shiitake, omit the chicken, and add a small piece of simmered shiitake to each bowl. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen line, not a compromise.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made one day ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it gently before seasoning, and don't let it boil hard.
• •Komatsuna can be blanched, squeezed, cut, and refrigerated several hours ahead. Keep it covered so it doesn't dry out.
• •Cut the carrot slices and yuzu peel in advance, but grill the mochi just before serving. Mochi is at its best when the outside is blistered and the center is newly soft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 425g)