This elaborate Oshogatsu meal served in beautiful jubako lacquerware used to be the norm
during the celebration of the New Year. However with our modern hectic lifestyles, time
consuming preparation of this traditional celebratory meal – usually eaten over the first 3 days
of the New Year – has made home prepared Osechi Ryori as common as the dinosaur.
Maybe it’s just the poor timing of Oshogatsu. Like singing your aria right after Pavarotti,
Domingo and Carreras have all performed. In the Motherland, Oshogatsu takes center stage (like
Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras all rolled into one) with no other traditional holiday to
obscure the New Year. However here in the States, Oshogatsu falls just one week after Christmas
with all of its shopping, cooking, partying, writing, arranging, scheduling, yadda, yadda, yadda,
stress. Last thing you feel like doing is going through that whole cooking rigmarole again just
one week later. And it’s not like we even had a break to prepare for Christmas after the same
stressful routine during Thanksgiving. Okay, maybe no card writing and gift shopping with
Thanksgiving but definitely more stressors with cooking, meal planning and party planning.
Throw in a couple of Halloween parties in October and its no wonder why we’re simply pooped
come January. Hey, maybe we should readopt the lunisolar calendar for Oshogatsu. After all,
January 1st was adopted just 135 years ago as the start of the New Year. That would give us
several weeks to recover from holidays of the previous year. But then again, I probably still
wouldn’t prepare my own kuromame since it takes 4 to 5 hours to simmer those ebony orbs of
sweet goodness.
Osechi Ryori
Traditional Osechi Ryori cooking takes time mainly for two reasons. First, you have to prepare
enough food to last for the first 3 days of the New Year. For two people that may not be a lot
but if you have a family of 4 or 5 (especially growing teens), that literally could fill your
refrigerator. Sure, it would be simple to prepare a big pot of chili that would last 3 days but that
wouldn’t be traditional Osechi Ryori cuisine which has symbolism in every dish (unless your
goal for the New Year is to walk, talk and smell like a cowboy).
Second, because you aren’t allowed to cook for the first 3 days, dishes have to be flavored
stronger than usual since they’re consumed at room temperature or even colder and the
additional salt, shoyu and sugar helped to preserve the dishes in an era when refrigerators weren’t
available. Hence beans that simmers for hours on end.
By itself, Osechi Ryori cooking is a monumental task; add it to the end of 2 or 3 successive
holidays and prepared store purchased dishes start looking really good.
Don’t Need to Forsake
Even if you don’t have the time to prepare traditional Osechi Ryori, you can still partake in
these traditional Oshogatsu meals… with the help of your neighborhood Japanese market. The
traditional kuromame eaten to ensure health in the New Year can be purchased at most Japanese
ethnic markets during Oshogatsu – these are usually cooked the way you would if you had the
time and patience (I would avoid the canned variety if possible since they almost have the
consistency of refried beans). Likewise various colored kamaboko can also be purchased directly
from the market. Because kobumaki usually requires an hour of simmering, I also purchase these
seaweed rolls from the market.
Kinpira or julienne gobo is the one dish that I might make instead of purchase since I usually
prep julienne gobo and carrots for my New Year’s morning ozoni and it only takes a quick stir
fry to prepare. However tazukuri or candied dried sardines (or shrimp) are definitely purchased as
are namasu or pickled vegetables and nimono or simmered vegetables since these either take
several days to soak or a couple hours to chop and simmer. I no longer consume shishamo
(pregnant capelin fish) or kazunoko (herring roe) since they portend an abundance of children
in the New Year… old oaks shouldn’t be dropping acorns anymore.
Will Osechi Ryori Ruin my Diet?
Actually, Osechi Ryori is for the most part, a healthy diet to indulge in. Other than the slightly
heavier salt load, most of the dishes are vegetable based and high in fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The protein based dishes are usually low in fat and saturated fat and most dishes are simmered,
not deep fried.
If you do prepare your own Osechi Ryori dishes and use a lighter hand in the shoyu and salt (not
needed in this day and age with refrigeration), the dishes can be indulged in throughout the
New Year, not just the first 3 days of the year.
In fact, if we consumed the usual Osechi Ryori dishes throughout the year, we’d probably be
healthier and it would be easier to maintain our waistlines throughout the year. So instead of
indulging in kuromame just during Oshogatsu, why not include beans whether they are black,
red or white, garbanzo or lima, whole or mashed as regular part of your diet. Instead of simply
have nimono just in January, make simmered dishes whether its oden, stews or soups a regular
part of your diet especially if they’re vegetable based with lean protein. And instead of having
seafood just during celebratory occasions, substitute seafood throughout the year in place of
beef, pork or chicken.
Though Oshogatsu is a soulful celebration, consuming more Osechi Ryori type foods
throughout the year will reward you physically. Your body may not say much (my back end
does a lot of talking) but it will thank you.
