Happy New Year from Tokyo
Hello all...Happy New Year from Tokyo!
新年あけましておめでとうございます。
2008 is here and in Japan that means a nice meal, called osechi-ryori! New Years was one of the key festival times during the old Imperial times of Japan and it is still widely celebrated today albeit on the Gregorian calendar, rather than the older Chinese calendar. During this time, the woman were not suppose to cook food (except for a soup called ozoni) so the osechi-ryori is typically foods that are made in the end of the previous year and can last for several days. They are usually a range of sweet, spicy and sour foods, like black soybeans and herring roe.
One key food eaten during the first few days of the new year is ozoni. Ozoni is made mostly with mochi (Japanese rice cakes) and can include meats such as chicken or fish. It typically has vegetables like spinach, herbs and carrots for color and flavor. We will eat ozoni for breakfast the first couple of days of the new year.
By the way, one of my favorite Japanese sayings uses mochi: Mochi wa mochiya (餅は餅屋).
It means "For Rice Cakes, the Rice Cake store". In other words, let the professionals do it. So next time someone is trying to force their opinions on you, simply say, "Mochi wa mochiya." Likewise, when you want to butt into someone else's area of expertise, remember "Mochi wa mochiya!"
新年あけましておめでとうございます。
2008 is here and in Japan that means a nice meal, called osechi-ryori! New Years was one of the key festival times during the old Imperial times of Japan and it is still widely celebrated today albeit on the Gregorian calendar, rather than the older Chinese calendar. During this time, the woman were not suppose to cook food (except for a soup called ozoni) so the osechi-ryori is typically foods that are made in the end of the previous year and can last for several days. They are usually a range of sweet, spicy and sour foods, like black soybeans and herring roe.
One key food eaten during the first few days of the new year is ozoni. Ozoni is made mostly with mochi (Japanese rice cakes) and can include meats such as chicken or fish. It typically has vegetables like spinach, herbs and carrots for color and flavor. We will eat ozoni for breakfast the first couple of days of the new year.
By the way, one of my favorite Japanese sayings uses mochi: Mochi wa mochiya (餅は餅屋).
It means "For Rice Cakes, the Rice Cake store". In other words, let the professionals do it. So next time someone is trying to force their opinions on you, simply say, "Mochi wa mochiya." Likewise, when you want to butt into someone else's area of expertise, remember "Mochi wa mochiya!"
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