Ozoni (お雑煮）is a traditional Japanese New Year’s dish that consists of grilled rice cakes and various vegetables, served in hot soup. There are many variations of Ozoni throughout the country, and Tokyo has its own style to celebrate the new year.
Shiitake Nimono (椎茸の煮物) is dried Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated, cooked, and seasoned with a sweet and salty flavor. Shiitake Nimono can be eaten as is for everyday meals or used as one part of Osechi Ryori, the New Year’s feast.
Ozoni (お雑煮) is a special soup with Mochi (rice cake) in it that you eat in the morning on New Year’s Day in Japan. We decorate the house with Mochi to dedicate to the New Year, and eat it to celebrate and hope for a good year. We have a big meal called Osechi along with Ozoni, but we’ll talk about that some other time.