My Mom's Ozoni (Japanese New Year's Mochi Soup)
Author: 
Recipe type: Soup
Serves: 14 to 16
 
Ingredients
  • About 16 - 20 cups of water
  • 1 large 4 inch x 4 inch piece of drieddashi konbu
  • Roughly ½ cup sliced carrots
  • Roughly ¾ cup sliced (and halved) daikon
  • Handful of mizuna (leaves and stems)
  • Roughly 2 -3 tablespoons dried konbu dashi powder (or katsuo dashi for non-vegetarian option)
  • 6 to 7 shakes of salt (Forget teaspoons! My Mom actually counted the number of times she shook the salt shaker for me - thanks Mom!)
  • Roughly 2 to 3 tablespoons shoyu (almost a ladle-full according to Mom)
  • Minimum 1 piece of mochi per person
  • ½ block of kamaboko, sliced and then halved (optional; omit for vegetarian ozoni)
  • Optional: 3 pieces of chicken breast tenderloin, chopped into bite-sized pieces.
Instructions
  1. In a large stock pot, add the large piece of dashi konbu and water, then boil. Reduce heat to medium.
  2. Add dried konbu dashi (or katsuo dashi) powder and soy sauce. Simmer for a few minutes. If you are going to add chicken to the ozoni, add the chicken at this point, cook on low (to keep it tender) and skim off residue.
  3. Add carrots and daikon. Cook until tender. Reduce heat to low. Add salt.
  4. Just before the ozoni is ready to be served, add a handful of the mizuno, simmer for a few minutes until tender.
  5. Our mochi was frozen, so we warmed them up in the microwave with just a little water on the plate for about 15 - 2o seconds until soft. Add the mochi to the stock pot and allow it to continue to cook for about a minute.
  6. Place two pieces of kamaboko inside each individual serving bowl. Add 1 mochi plus soup and serve immediately.
Recipe by Bebe Love Okazu at https://bebeloveokazu.com/2011/01/06/ozoni-new-years-mochi-soup/