A Fish Out of Water: 01/07 Dinner: Nanakusa-gayu

On January 7th it is customary to eat nanakusa-gayu (seven herb rice porridge). This is okayu (rice porridge, Japan's version of congee) cooked with haru no nanakusa (the seven herbs of spring). These herbs were traditionally foraged for in the fields, and being wild and fresh were very nutritious. Being so healthy, it was thought that eating nanakusa-gayu would prevent illness in the coming year. And since it is a very nourishing yet light and simple dish, it is much appreciated after all the indulgent feasting and imbibing over the New Year's holidays.

This tradition was imported from China over a thousand years ago, and I suspect it used to be celebrated later in the year (using the lunar Chinese calender) because in most parts of Japan there is little to no vegetation this time of year. Luckily these days supermarkets sell all of the herbs together in sets, so there's no need to forage. This is what comes in a set:

From left: hotokenoza (henbit); seri (dropwort, similar to watercress); baby daikon; hakobe (chickweed); nazuna (Shepard's purse); suzuna (turnip); and gogyo (cudweed).

Our first helping was a simple bowl of nanakusa-gayu, the way it's supposed to be. Next, we added eggs, which is kind of misses the point of this light and healthful dish, but eggs are great in okayu so we had to do it.

Here's the recipe:

Nanakusa-gayu

One cup raw Japanese white rice

6 cups cold water, plus more if needed

1 scant teaspoon salt

1 package of seven herb mix, or about 200 grams of watercress or baby greens

2 eggs, optional

Nanakusa

Wash the rice, add to a sturdy pot (an earthenware pot is best) along with the salt and water.

Let it soak for 30 minutes, then cover, bring to boil over medium heat, turn heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Unlike regular rice, it's OK to open the lid now again to check things out, give it a stir, and add more water if needed (this really depends on how thick you like your okayu- I like it thick so 5 or 6 cups is enough, but if you like it runny you'll want to add more water).

In the meantime, wash the seven herbs, removing roots (except for the daikon and turnip). Chop the greens coarsely and slice the daikon and turnip thinly. After the okayu has cooked add the sliced roots and greens, stir and taste, adding salt if needed.

If using the eggs, crack into a bowl and beat them lightly. When the o-kayu is cooked but before the herbs are added, pour the eggs in a thin stream into the pot, in a spiral pattern. Cover and let sit for a few minutes until the eggs are set, then stir, add the herbs, and serve.