Traditional Japanese New Year Food
Japanese new year s food is called osechi ryori and colorful dishes are packed in layers of lacquer boxes called jubako.
Traditional japanese new year food. The tradition started in the heian period 794 1185. Ozoni is a traditional soup with a piece of rice cake mochi that is enjoyed on new years. Each of the dishes holds a special meaning in welcoming the new year and in this article i will explain in detail what each of the items in osechi ryori symbolizes and the meaning and types of the new year s ozoni soup.
Osechi is typically served on new year s day in a beautiful lacquered box. These little round cakes are even used in certain new year s decorations such as the kagami mochi. Osechi ryōri 御節料理 お節料理 or おせち are traditional japanese new year foods.
Mochi a type of chewy rice cake is a classic japanese new year s food. In fact when washoku traditional japanese food was granted its status as a unesco intangible cultural heritage the kind of food that took center stage in the description is osechi ryori. The story behind osechi the tradition behind osechi ryori goes back centuries to the heian period 794 1185.
A very traditional new year s activity is preparing the mochi yourself on new year s day. There are many variations of ozoni depending on the region of japan where the soup is made. Like bentō boxes jūbako are often kept stacked before and after use.
They come in an assortment of colorful dishes packed together in special boxes called jubako which resemble bento boxes. Osechi ryori おせち料理 japanese new year s food the japanese celebrate the new year day with traditional new year foods called osechi. Here are examples of what is usually in the osechi box.
As the new year symbolizes a new beginning osechi ryori consists of food with auspicious meanings. Osechi ryori are traditional dishes enjoyed by japanese people during new year s and consists of various foods packed in jubako boxes similar to the bento boxes. Sometimes the box is sectioned or stackable but it s immaculately presented every time.