Tasting the New Year

I love that I married someone that is not Japanese and from a different culture.
For one, I can cook Japanese food that is semi-horrendous and Tim thinks it's good.
And two, I love that our kids are part of two rich cultures and will get to experience both.


So in an attempt to keep both Korean and Japanese traditions alive for our girls, I cooked some traditional New Year's Day foods for my family today. Luckily, my mother-in-law and mom were not here to taste said dishes because they would surely gag at the inauthenticity of it all.
But hey, you gotta start somewhere.
Hopefully one day, my girls will cook these dishes for their kids~


Ddukgook (Korean rice cake soup)

                         


Osechi-Ryori - traditional Japanese New Year's food


(And yes, that is a chip-and-dip dish. I need to get some traditional Japanese lacquer boxes~)

• Kuromame (center) - "black bean", symbolizes good health and hard work
• Kamaboko (left) - Japanese fish cake, pink and white supposedly symbolizes the rising sun
• Tazukuri (dried anchovies, store bought) - symbolizes fruitful harvest
• Nimono - "simmered dish" made of gobo (burdock root), renkon (lotus root), carrots, bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, peas, chicken (Naomi's favorite)

Sekihan (store bought) - "red rice", Japanese red rice cooked with azuki beans

Ozoni - Japanese soup with mochi, shiitake, kamaboko, daikon (radish), carrots, and spinach (Tim's favorite)

It was good to have a little taste of "home" today~

Happy New Year!