【Happy New Year】There are a lot of special cuisines you can enjoy only during the New Year’s holiday in Japan! JSR members will explain what they are eating this holiday with pictures!
【Happy New Year】There are a lot of special cuisines you can enjoy only during the New Year’s holiday in Japan! JSR members will explain what they are eating this holiday with pictures!
2023-01-05
Hi everyone! Happy New Year! I ate many feasts during this holiday and gained 1kg (2.2 lbs)!
It’s Boss from Japanese Snack Republic!
Hi there! Happy New Year! I kept my weight under control this year because I gained 3 kg (6.6 lbs) during last year’s New Year holiday.
It’s Saori from Japanese Snack Republic!
Every culture has their own way to celebrate the New Year by eating special cuisines, enjoying special events, and so on! In Japan, we have a custom to celebrate the New Year by eating special cuisines!
In this article, we will introduce Japanese traditional culture during the New Year holiday!
Have you seen some gorgeous Japanese dishes for New Year? Have you wondered what people were eating during the New Year holiday in Japan?
【Happy New Year】
There are a lot of special cuisines you can enjoy only during the New Year’s holiday in Japan!
JSR members will explain what they are eating this holiday with pictures!
NYE! That’s the day for eating “SOBA” in Japan!
We posted about Soba in the previous article, but we have a custom to eat Soba on NYE. Because Soba noodles symbolize long life as the noodles are long, so people wish for their good health for the next year. Another reason to eat Soba is since Soba is soft and easy to chew and cut off, people wish to get rid of bad luck in the previous year so that it won’t haunt you for the next year!
【Japanese Culture】When do Japanese people eat soba the most? The answer is NYE! Why do Japanese people eat soba on NYE?
https://japanese-snacks-republic.com/blog/entry_107.html
Yes! Soba is nutritious and easy to chew! So, it became our standard food to eat on NYE!
I had Soba at a Soba restaurant this holiday, but many people get Soba from supermarkets or convenience stores and eat at home because Soba and Udon manufactures usually release their new products this time of the year! You can find various unique noodles. I saw noodles with bold soup, light soup, concentrated umami soup......etc!
January is the month for limited edition instant noodles!
You will see many unique limited edition instant noodles released in January in Japan! If you want to check tasty Soba and Udon, do not miss this month!
Instant Soba
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Japanese are not allowed to work until January 3rd?
Gorgeous traditional New Year’s feast, Osechi, is full of wishes and ingenuity!
Have you ever wondered about sumptuous cuisines that Japanese people eat during New Year holiday?
We want to explain about it next!
This feast is called Osechi. We usually eat Osechi between January 1st and 3rd, and enjoy sharing it with families or relatives!
This style of cuisine (custom) originally came from China to celebrate changing seasons (Osechi literally means change of seasons in Kanji) and to show appreciation to the Gods. That is why it looks sumptuous!
Osechi contains various dishes in small potions. One important factor is that throughout the dishes the ingredients last a very long time! Japanese cook Osechi around the end of the year and eat the small dishes for the first 3 days of the New Year.
So we avoid the ingredients that have their tastes fade quickly!
Also, Osechi has another function! For the first 3 days of the New Year holiday while a family is eating Osechi, no one has to cook so that everyone can relax! Osechi contains various tasty small dishes and there are meanings for them!
“Good luck”, “Jinx” and “witty!
Each dish has meaning and wish for the New Year!
We posted some Osechi pictures that our JSR members ate! Did you notice some of the same dishes (ingredients) in the pictures?
Just like Soba on NYE, we wish for the New Year through the ingredients of Osechi! For example......
What do you think? Each ingredient has its own meaning and wishes for the New Year.
After thinking about Osechi properly again, I realized many wishes were filled in the box of Osechi cuisine!
True! Oh, there is one more factor to make Osechi. We have to add ingredients that each family member likes!
Yes!! That is important! You don’t want to eat the same things for three whole days! So, you have to add some of your family’s favorite items! (I usually add some meat in Osechi every year!!)
There are many standard ingredients for Osechi but each family has their own choices as well. Our family likes smoked salmon, so we usually have many smoked salmon in our Osechi!
You can’t forget this!
The main character of the special dish for Japanese New Year is definitely “Mochi”!!
Osechi is the standard for Japanese New Year cuisine, but we cannot forget “Mochi” as well.
Oh, by the way, why do we eat Mochi in the New Year? I forgot!
There are various theories about eating Mochi. One said that it was originally from a celebration ceremony in Heian era. Eating hard Mochi was to wish for strong teeth, bones and good health. Another theory was that the Japanese believed that the God for harvesting/happiness dwelled in Mochi. So, eating Mochi was to receive power from the God!
Wow! That’s interesting! Eating Mochi is to wish for health and happiness! I didn’t know that!
That’s right! Mochi is made of sticky sweet rice. The rice is usually steamed, pounded and shaped. You can roast it or put it in soup and cook. Everyone has their favorite way of eating mochi. For me, I prefer to roast it and dip it in soy sauce!
Omochi is pure carbohydrate and high calorie! So, I try not to eat too much this year, but I prefer to eat it in a chicken soup!
Okay, now we are coming back to the beginning of this article.
So, the Japanese usually eat the special New Year cuisine during the first 3 days of the year. The dishes are pre-made around the end of the year so that everyone does not have to cook during the holiday. We eat a lot and relax, then start working with full of energy from January 4th! Everyone! Let’s work hard to offset the amount we ate during this holiday!
Oh my goodness!
I tried not to eat a lot this holiday, so I don’t have to work too much! I work hard but not super hard!
I wonder what kind of food you eat during this holiday. If you can answer me with pictures, I would really appreciate it!Okay, let’s eat tasty dishes and stay healthy this year!
Okay!That is all for today! I will see you in the next article!
See you soon!
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