Zoni Recipes

OZONI (JAPANESE NEW YEAR MOCHI SOUP - KANTO STYLE)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients.
• Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and put them in a small bowl, add ¼ tsp kosher salt.
• Add 1 Tbsp sake and mix well with hands. Let the chicken marinated for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, blanch the komatsuna or spinach in boiling water and cook until tender (do not overcook). Soak in iced water after removing from pot to stop cooking further.
• Squeeze the water out and cut the komatsuna into 1 ½ inch (3 cm) length.
• Make a knot with each mitsuba's stem. Peel the yuzu skin.
• If there is too much pith (the white fuzzy thing) was removed along with yuzu's skin, trim with knife. Julienne the yuzu peel very thinly.
• Add 4 cups (960 ml) dashi in a large saucepan or pot and bring it to boil. Once boiling, add the chicken pieces.
• Once all the chicken is added, cover to cook for 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of chicken.
• Once the chicken is cooked, skim the foam and fat on the surface.
• Add 1 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp kosher salt. Mix well and keep it on simmer.
• When everything else is ready, start toasting mochi in a toaster oven. Optionally you can do this on a frying pan or oven as well.
• Serve the chicken and soup, add the mochi and komatsuna, and finally topped with mitsuba and yuzu. Enjoy immediately.

OZONI (MOCHI SOUP)

Steps:

• Make the chicken stock: Rinse the chicken parts. In a pot, bring the chicken, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 2 quarts water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to cook at a low simmer for 30 minutes, reducing the heat as needed to prevent a full boil (which would cloud the broth).
• Strain the broth and discard the chicken or reserve the meat for another use. Add the mirin to the broth and set aside.
• Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Add the satoimo and blanch until the skin is soft enough to slip off easily, about 3 minutes. Drain the satoimo, then use a spoon to scrape off the skin. Slice the satoimo into ¼-inch-thick rounds, then transfer them to a small saucepan. Add enough of the chicken broth to cover. Bring to a boil over high, then reduce the heat to simmer until soft, about 15 minutes.
• In lacquerware soup bowls or other small bowls, neatly arrange mizuna, satoimo and 1 or 2 slices of Naruto. Peel one or two long strips from the yuzu, then cut the strips very thinly crosswise. In a medium saucepan, reheat the chicken stock. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
• To serve, heat the mochi until puffy and soft, for a few minutes in a toaster oven or under the broiler, or 30 seconds on high in a microwave, and add it to the bowls. Immediately ladle about 1/2 cup hot broth into each bowl - before the mochi hardens - and garnish with a pinch of yuzu peel.

ZUNI CAFé'S RED ONION PICKLES

Steps:

• Make the brine: Combine vinegar, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice berries, chile, star anise, bay leaves and peppercorns in a 4-quart (or larger) nonreactive pot at least 10 inches in diameter. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes. Cover pot, turn off heat and leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
• Peel the onions, trim ends and slice crosswise into 3/8-inch thick slices. Separate into rings, discarding any green centers or leathery outer rings.
• Bring the brine back to a boil. Add onions and turn off heat. Stir with a wooden spoon to submerge onions. Leave to steep, covered, until mixture cools.
• Transfer onions and brine to pint jars and refrigerate for at least a day before serving.

JAPANESE ZONI

Steps:

• Combine water and seaweed; bring to a boil on medium-high heat.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 1/2 an hour.
• Add in the onion, soy sauce, sake, and spinach; bring to a boil.
• Add celery and salt; mix well.
• Garnish with lemon zest and serve.
• Enjoy!