First meals of the year

We're back from Osaka, a bit tired out and quite a bit heavier. It was a short but wonderful visit, with lots of good food and good company.

We arrived at Hideaki's parents' house on New Year's Eve and we all ate toshikoshisoba for dinner, along with Atsuko (my sister-in-law), Hisashi and baby Marya. The next morning we woke up early for osechi ryouri.

Osechi ryouri is a feast of symbolic foods eaten during the first three days of the New Year. There are dozens of foods to choose from and rather than serve all of them, most families choose their favourits and stick to those throughout the years. My in-laws are no exception, so rather than explain what I ate I'll let you read the explanations for last year's osechi.

My favourites are tainoko (sea bream roe), in the middle of the plate above; and namasu (marinated carrot and daikon), datemaki (rolled omelette) and kobumaki (herring, cod roe and other seafood wrapped in kelp), all shown below.

The first dinner of the year, as always, was tai no shioyaki. Tai is seabream, and shioyaki means salt-grilled. This is a lucky fish and I like the way it is served whole and cut up at the table with pride by the man of the house- it reminds me of a Christmas turkey.

It is a very delicious fish, with firm meaty flesh and a delicate flavour. The salt gives it enough flavour to eat as-is, and keeps the meat juicy and tender. We always eat a lot of good stuff when we visit Osaka, but this is probably my favourite of the year.

Served with crab salad and kimchi, shown above, which my mother-in-law makes every year. It is not as red as regular Korean kimchi, but don't be fooled- it's hot stuff. There are so many things that go into this, and I think the recipe changes slightly each year so the flavour is always a bit different. This time was hotter and less sour than usual, and was wonderful with rice. I really wish I could have eaten more of it.

Tags: おせち料理 osechi ryouri japanese food food cooking seafood fish new years new year japan oshougatsu

Comments

[Paula]

I just wanted to wish you and your family a happy and healthy new year!
I love your blog, my family and I hope to move to tokyo in a few years. Your blog has really helped me learn about the customs and lifestyles of our future home.
thanks!

[Kat]

my in-laws have that same turntable thing for their o-sechi and the stackable round dish with a cover...

have a great week!

[Carlyn]

Amy;
Everything looks grand...I didn't have my dose of New Years food as my mother is in Florida .....no excuses, I could have cooked for myself, but laziness prevailed.

[Amy]

Thank you Paula. I'm sure you'll be an expert by the time you get to Japan!

Kat, I love the New Years dishes, and the turntable is so sensible. It's such a shame they are only used once a year.

Carlyn, no big deal missing osechi. I doubt I'd have any urge to eat/cook it if I didn't visit the in-laws. People eat it because they HAVE to, not because they want to!