Osechi Ryori (御節料理) are the traditional foods enjoyed on New Year’s day in Japan. They come in an assortment of colorful dishes packed together in special boxes called jubako, which resemble bento boxes. Every dish of these traditional foods have special meaning in welcoming the New Year.
Similar to bento boxes, Osechi Ryori are usually packed in 2-3 layers of lacquer boxes (ojubako) and there are many dishes in each layer.
12 Popular Osechi Ryori Dishes
Datemaki (Sweet Rolled Omelette) 伊達巻
Kuri Kinton (Candied Chestnut with Sweet Potatoes) 栗きんとん
Namasu (Daikon & Carrot Salad) 紅白なます
Chikuzenni / Nishime (Simmered Chicken & Vegetables) 筑前煮/煮しめ
Tazukuri (Candied Sardines) 田作り
Kuromame (Sweet Black Soybeans) 黒豆
Kazunoko (Herring Roe) 数の子
Kamaboko (Fish Cake with Salmon Roe) 蒲鉾いくらのせ
Ebi no Umani (Simmered Shrimp) えびのうま煮
Shake no Kobumaki (Salmon Kombu Roll) 鮭の昆布巻き
Kikka Kabu (Pickled Chrysanthemum Turnip) 菊花かぶ
Decorative Kamaboko (Fish Cakes)かまぼこ
Now I did not make all of these for reasons, such as allergies, time, money, and the lack of desire to eat some of these!
My manager's mom game me some recipes that i'll share with you!
Datemaki
(Japanese Sweet Rolled Omelette)
伊達巻
Ingredients
110 g Hanpen (fish cake) (See Notes)
4 large eggs
Seasonings:
2 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sake
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp honey
½ tsp soy sauce
Steps:
Preheat oven to 390F (200C). Line a 8" x 8" (20 x 20cm) baking dish with parchment paper.
Cut hanpen into 1/2 inch cubes and whisk eggs in a small bowl.
In a blender or food processor, put hanpen, Seasonings, and beaten egg and blend until smooth.
Strain the egg mixture through a fine sieve twice and pour into the baking dish lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 390F (200C) for 20 minutes or until slightly brown on top. If not brown, broil for 2 minutes or until the surface is a nice even light brown color.
*roll the omelette while it’s hot.* Once the omelette is done, remove the omelette from the baking pan by lifting the parchment paper. Place the bamboo mat (flat side is facing up) over the omelette. Carefully flip the omelette, holding the parchment paper with one hand and bamboo mat with the other hand. Remove the parchment paper.
Roll omelette into a tight cylinder and secure with rubber brands. Wrap the bamboo roll with plastic wrap. Cool it standing up vertically to maintain a nice round shape. Put the plate underneath to catch liquid dripping.
After 2-3 hours, carefully remove datemaki from bamboo mat. Cut into 3/4 inch wide pieces.
Kuri Kinton
(Candied Chestnuts with Sweet Potatoes)
栗きんとん
Ingredients
1.1 lb Satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) (1.1 lb = 500 g)
1 jar Kuri Kanroni (Chestnuts in Heavy Syrup) (Marrons Glacés)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
3 Tbsp syrup from Kuri Kanroni
1 Tbsp mirin
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients.
Wash and peel the sweet potatoes.
Slice the sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces (so that it will be cooked equally)and soak in water for 1 hour.
Rinse the sweet potatoes.
Put the sweet potatoes in a pot and pour water just enough to cover them.
Bring the water to a boil on high heat and once boiling, lower the heat to medium.
Cook the sweet potatoes about 15-20 minutes, or until the skewer goes through smoothly.
Reserve about 1/2 cup of the water and drain completely.
Mash the boiled sweet potatoes through the strainer/sieve with a spatula to remove fiber and lumps. If necessary you can add a little bit of cooking liquid here.
Put the mashed sweet potatoes back into the pot. Add sugar, salt, and syrup and mix well.
Put the pot back on the stove and cook over low heat, stirring constantly. Add the cooking liquid as needed (I didn't need to add but it depends on how much syrup you added in previous step). Add mirin if you want to add more sweetness (I added about 1 Tbsp.).
Add the chestnuts and cook for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.
Remove Kuri Kinton into an airtight container and let it cool. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator and consume in 3-4 days.
Namasu
(Daikon and Carrot Salad)
紅白なます
Ingredients
4 inch daikon (4" = 10 cm) (cut in half)
2 inch carrot (2" = 5 cm)
1 tsp Kosher salt
Seasonings:
1 ½ Tbsp granulated sugar
1½ Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp water
¼ tsp Kosher salt
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients.
Peel the daikon and carrot.
Thinly slice the daikon and carrot lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick slabs (3 mm thickness). Stack a few slabs at a time and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch-thick strips.
Put daikon and carrot julienned strips in a bowl and sprinkle salt. Give a gentle massage and set aside for 5-10 minutes
Meanwhile combine all the ingredients for the seasonings in a small bowl and whisk well together.
Squeeze water out of daikon and carrot and put in a new bowl.
Pour the seasonings and mix well together. Garnish with thin strips of yuzu and serve at room temperature or chilled.
Chikuzenni/Nishime
(Simmered Chicken and Vegetables)
筑前煮
Ingredients
¾ lb skinless boneless chicken thighs
½ Tbsp sake
½ Tbsp soy sauce
6 mushrooms
1 lotus root
½ boiled bamboo shoot
5 Satoimo (Japanese Taro)
½ gobo (burdock root)
1 carrot
½– 1 block konnyaku (konjac)
10 snow peas
Rice vinegar (for soaking)
2 Tbsp sesame oil
Seasonings:
2 cups dashi
3 Tbsp sake
3 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
3 Tbsp Usukuchi Soy Sauce
½ tsp Kosher salt
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients.
Remove extra fat of the chicken and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces. Marinade in 1/2 Tbps. sake and 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce and set aside.
In a small bowl, put dried shiitake mushrooms and pour just enough lukewarm water to cover them. Soak for 20 minutes, or until soft. Squeeze the liquid out from the shiitake mushrooms and keep this liquid.
Cut the shiitake mushrooms into hexagon, which represent turtle shape for longevity.
Cut the lotus root into Hana Renkon. Soak them in vinegar water (2 cups water + 1 tsp. vinegar).
Cut the bamboo shoot in half and thinly slice.
Peel the taro and cut in half and sprinkle some salt.
Rub the taro with hands and wash them in running water.
Scrape the skin off the burdock root with the back of knife. After rinsing, cut it into thin slices. Quickly soak them in vinegar water (2 cups water + 1 tsp. vinegar).
Cut the carrot into Nejiri Ume. Blanch half of them for 2 minutes and reserve for decoration.
Cut the konnyaku into Tazuna Konnyaku.
In the large pot, heat 1 Tbsp. of sesame oil over medium high heat. When it’s hot, cook the chicken until it turns white. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Add 1 Tbsp. of sesame oil and cook all the ingredients except the blanched snow peas and carrots that are reserved for decorate.
Add dashi stock and shiitake mushroom liquid.
Bring it to a boil. Skim off the fat and scum that accumulates on the surface.
Add sake, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and salt.
Add the chicken back into the pot.
Bring it to a boil. As you see, the stock should cover about 80% of the ingredients.
Make Otoshibuta and cover the ingredients. Cook for 10 minutes.
Remove Otoshibuta and cook for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings (with soy sauce, sugar, or salt) to your liking.
Add the snow peas and remove from the heat. Cover, and let cool. Serve Chikuzenni in a dish or traditional Japanese lacquer container, “Ju-bako”. Top with the snow peas and blanched carrots.
Tazukuri
(Candied Sardines)
田作り
1 cup iriko (dried baby sardines/anchovies)
1 Tbsp white sesame seeds (roasted/toasted)
2 Tbsp sake
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients.
Put dried baby sardines and sesame seeds in a frying pan.
Toast the sardines and sesame seeds on low heat for 10-15 minutes or until crispy. Make sure to stir constantly so the sesame seeds won’t burn. When you can break the sardine in two pieces with your fingers, transfer to a plate lined with parchment paper.
In the same frying pan, add sake, sugar, soy sauce, honey, and oil. Bring to a boil on medium heat and reduce the sauce until the sauce gets thicken and you can draw a line on the surface of the pan with a silicone spatula.
Add the sardines and coat with the sauce. Transfer to the plate lined with parchment paper. Spread the sardines out to let them cool. You can keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
Salmon Kombu Roll
鮭の昆布巻き
Ingredients
8 pieces Hidaka Kombu (See Notes)
5 cups water (for soaking kombu)
1.06 oz dried kanpyo (gourd strips) (30 g) (I used the whole package)
1 tsp. kosher salt (for rubbing kanpyo)
2 cups water (for de-salting salmon)
1 tsp. kosher salt (for de-salting salmon)
3 fillets salted salmon (See Notes; skip for vegan/vegetarian)
Seasonings
1/3 cup sake
1 tsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp soy sauce (divided)
3 Tbsp mirin
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients.
Soak the kombu in 5 cups of water for 30 minutes. Reserve this kombu water (aka Kombu Dashi) as we will be using it for cooking later.
Soak kanpyo in water for 15 minutes and drain. Quickly rinse kanpyo under running water and rub it with 1 tsp kosher salt. Rinse again and drain well.
In a flat container, add 2 cups of water and 1 tsp kosher salt. Place the salmon fillets and set aside for 30 minutes to de-salt the salmon.
Remove the salmon from the salted water and gently pat dry with paper towel.
Using a sharp knife, remove bones off the salmon (if there is any on your fillet).
If you have kitchen tweezers, they help remove the bones from the flesh very easily. Finally remove the skin.
Cut the salmon fillets into a roughly 3.5” x ¾” log shape (or any shape that is easy to roll up in the kombu). The width of salmon should match with the width of kombu.
Wipe off the excess moisture on kombu with paper towel.
Wrap the log shaped salmon with kombu. Pull up the other end of kombu a few times as you roll tightly.
Once all the kombu is rolled up, tie each one with kanpyo. Depends on the width of kombu, you might need to make 1 to 3 ties. Think about the final serving size and decide on the location of the knots. Here each kombu makes 2 salmon kombu roll pieces as I would be cutting each roll in half. Therefore, I’d need 2 ties/knots.
Place the kombu roll in a large pot (I use Le Creuset 3.5 QT). Add the reserved kombu dashi until kombu is fully submerged. You don’t have to use all of the kombu dashi, but save it just in case you need to add more liquid later.
Add sake and rice vinegar.
Place the Otoshibuta (drop lid - see how we can make it with aluminum foil) on the salmon kombu roll. We do not use a regular lid throughout the cooking process. Once boiling, skim off the foam and scum on the surface. Then cook on gentle simmer for 1 hour.
Insert a wooden skewer to check if the kombu has become tender.
Once it’s tender, add sugar and half of the soy sauce (1.5 Tbsp).
Instead of using utensils (that can potentially break down the kombu), hold the pot and swirl it around to mix the seasonings and coat with the food. Cook covered (with otoshibuta) on simmer for 15 minutes.
Add mirin and the rest of soy sauce (1.5 Tbsp) and cook (covered with otoshibuta) on simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the cooking liquid is almost gone. Once it’s done cooking, remove from the heat and let cool.
Once cool enough to handle, cut the kombu in half (if you have 2 ties). If you like, cut off both ends for better presentation. Serve at room temperature in Osechi Ryori. Store in the refrigerator for up to 7-10 days and you can also freeze the kombu roll.
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