Dungeon Meshi Maniacs! How have you been? Why I ain't seen you in now on two weeks. How did your holidays treat you? I hope Annual Gift Man brought you all the delicious foods that you dreamed about. I've found that as I get older the best gifts a person could give me are food related. Be it actual food or ingredients to make food. Nothing makes me come faster to the old tree than the promise of something delicious!
Which got me to thinking about this week, DMMs. Granted this is the Nightmares Steamed in Sake leftovers post but there is something bigger than steamed clams happening in a few days. It's almost the Year of the Horse, DMMs! 2026! Can you believe it'll finally be the year that Doom starring The Rock takes place in! I know I can't contain my excitement. Beloved blockbusters set in 2026 aren't the only great thing about the new year. I'm sure you already know but New Year's Day is yet another Eat It holiday! And not just Eat It but eating foods with the hope they'll bring good fortune of the coming year. Every culture has some form of foodstuff that one should eat to kick the year off right. My family is good old Cornbeef and Cabbage!
Thank you, Beef Council, for the photo. Little known secret, DMMs, but 2026 is the 20th Anniversary of my editor and my marriage! This is the dish they ate every New Years Day growing up so it became the dish I've eaten. Tradition! Albeit a new one. You see, while cornbeef and cabbage is associated with the Irish it is not from Ireland. Nope, the Irish ate a type of bacon rather than cornbeef back in the home country. Problem is they couldn't get that exact bacon in America when they immigrated. Why couldn't they get it? Cost was a main factor but also a good chunk of discrimination. Thankfully they found the corned beef served in Jewish delis was pretty close. So corn beef and cabbage became the new normal. Now I know this is usually associated with St. Patrick's Day more than New Years but this is my family tradition so who cares? Like most New Years meals you'll find the meat represents good health and the cabbage, being green, represents good finances. But I hear you, DMMs. You want foods specifically for New Years. How about we stay in the good old USA and have some Hoppin John?
This is one of my favorites! Long grain rice, black-eye peas and collard greens. I can hardly sit still thinking about it. A Southern tradition, the Hoppin' John has long African roots and is very straight forward. The black-eyed peas and collards represent lucky and fortune which you will need a lot of in the coming year. The peas kinda look like coins and the collards are green which was the color of money back when everything was physical. Remember physical money, DMMs!? I've heard there are a few regional differences when it comes to eating Hoppin' John for New Year's. Like you leave some peas behind for extra wealth or put an actual coin under the bowl you serve the dish in. What I love most about Hoppin' John is how it is equally deslish as it is frugal. A great way to ensure good fortune is to not break the bank, DMMs! Okay, okay. But what about other countries? We can't let America force everyone to pay attention to it all the time...again. How about some soup? Ozoni, anyone?
Don't do it, DMMs. I know you've fired up your tablets to send me long form hate pieces over the above image. You are correct, that image is not from Dungeon Meshi. It's instead from She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat. Well EXCUSE....ME! I love a lot of manga that revolve around food and it's one of the best. So save your scorn, it bounces right off me.
Back to the soup! Ozoni is a fairly old dish. Basically it's just boiled mochi cakes, chicken or fish and whatever veggies you have on hand. Usually root veggies work best since this is a soup. Food historians say this is one of the first meals to pop up around samurai. The dudes were on the road a lot and needed something easy to eat and transport. So boiling up mochi was a good start. From there every region, and I mean EVERY REGION, has its own form of Ozoni. Everything from the style of broth to the extra ingredients differs depending on where you are. It seems the only thing any of them have in common is the boiled mochi. What's interesting is there's nothing really "New Years" about it. All we know is at some point during the Muromachi period, roughly 1336-1573, monks offered it to the gods on New Year's Eve. Eventually the peasants started to follow suit. Today you could offer some up to the gods but they are fine eating the smells while you eat the Ozoni. That's why foods never taste as good as they smell, DMMs! But what if you aren't in the mood for mochi?
I said not in the mood for mochi, not that you're sick of mochi! But what if you wanted something a bit sweeter on New Years Day? Don't worry, I've got you covered. Some believe that ringed cakes are great luck. The circle literally represents everything coming "full circle" and they are a mark of good fortune. The best part? Any old ring cake will do. And what's one of the best ringed cakes around? Donuts!
What? One Piece is about food. I have an entire cookbook written by Sanji. It says so on the cover, DMMs! Back to the donuts, I really love this idea. Any excuse to have donuts is a good one for me. Plus it just has to be a donut. No rules what it has to be made of or the toppings. I guess a jelly filled is out, maybe? It is still circular, after all. The main problem could be finding donuts on New Year's Day. Hopefully the bakeries are all closed that day so you either make them yourself or buy them the day before. Either way it's a perfect way to start the New Year!
I hope you have a wonderful New Year, DMMs. Thank you for reading during the past year. No matter what you eat I hope it brings you luck and good fortune. Just remember, all foods are lucky!
What? I also love Toriko. (he ate cherries that exploded in his stomach, he's fine).
Comments
Post a Comment