Zouni - Zouni

Japanese: 雑煮 - ぞうに

A soup made by boiling several ingredients such as fish, shellfish, and vegetables and adding mochi (rice cakes). It is also called zoni mochi. It is mainly used for the celebratory meal on the first three days of the New Year. Zoni means a stew, but in the old days in Kamigata it was called hozo (preserving the organs) as it was used to preserve the five internal organs. This is also the case with the Shijo school Sonobe school, which uses the character zoni (zonibushi). In the words of ladies-in-waiting at the Imperial Court, it was called hozo (also called bozo, with ho meaning to simmer).

It originally originated from a "naorai" ceremony, where the gods and parishioners would take down the sacred offerings made at a divine festival and eat them together, and it further came to refer to eating offerings to welcome the gods at the beginning of the year. This is why New Year's zoni is called naorai or its dialectal form kago in various parts of Kyushu. As for mochi, there has long been a ritual to harden teeth at the beginning of the year, where people would eat kagami mochi, daikon radish, melon, and boar or deer meat to pray for longevity, and it is likely that this was later added to zoni.

The chopsticks used in zoni are often made of willow, medium-thick with both ends tapered. The origin of this is said to be that during the time of Yoshikatsu (1434-43), the seventh young Ashikaga Shogun, the chopsticks used in a Gencho ceremony broke, and he died young that July after falling off a horse, so chopsticks were changed to thicker ones. During the Edo period, zoni chopsticks were sold at the Asakusa market as "okanbashi," which comes from the old name for zoni, "atsumono," which was still used in the Kamigata and Shin-Yoshiwara red-light districts. On the chopstick envelopes, characters such as "tsuru" (crane), "kame" (turtle), or "pine, bamboo, plum" were written for each family member, with the father being the crane and the mother being the turtle, etc.

In the Korean peninsula, people also eat rice cakes and soup called tteokguk (a type of soup similar to zoni) on New Year's Day.

[Tetsunosuke Tada]

kinds

Zoni can be broadly divided into Kanto and Kansai styles, but as ingredients grown in each region are mainly used, there are many different varieties. Kanto-style zoni is made with clear broth and includes chicken or duck meat, small shrimp, kamaboko (fish cake), burdock, Japanese mustard spinach or komatsuna (green mustard spinach), daikon (radish), taro, shiitake mushrooms, and grilled mochi (rice cakes). It may also be garnished with nori, and the original style was to sprinkle chopped yuzu (citron) on the spout. In Kansai, Kyoto's version has a long history and is considered the representative Kansai style. It is made with white miso and uses small round mochi boiled in water. It includes hoopoe, daikon (radish), grilled tofu, and is sprinkled with hana gatsuo (dried bonito flakes). Sometimes finely chopped salted yellowtail is added. Miso-based zoni is almost the same as in Osaka, Kobe, and Okayama. In Okayama, there is also a version with clear broth, but further west, clear broth is more common. There is a theory that miso is not used in zoni in the Kanto region because samurai disliked the phrase "putting miso on." Also, the reason why hoopoe is used in Kyoto is that it means to put it on a person's head, but it is more about taste than words, so it is used as an ingredient.

The distinctive features of zoni in different regions include that in Hokkaido, salmon fillets and salmon roe are added to a clear broth, and Chinese cabbage is used. The white of the cut rice cakes contrasts nicely with the red of the salmon. In Akita and Yamagata, salmon roe is added, and grilled tofu cut into strips is added. Freshly pounded rice cakes are soaked in water to make mizumochi, which is removed and used as needed. A unique zoni in the Tohoku region is that of Sendai. The stock is made using three ingredients: grilled and dried conger eel, shaved bonito, and dried octopus, but a simple method is to use grilled and dried goby. It is made with burdock, daikon radish, carrots, and the local specialty Sendai Chinese cabbage. A distinctive feature of Fukui's zoni is the addition of thinly sliced turnips along with their leaves, and while it was traditionally made with miso, some versions are now made with clear broth.

In Nagoya, zoni uses the word takana, which means "famous." In Nara, zoni is made with miso and roasted cubes of noshi mochi are added. In Hiroshima, zoni is made with clear broth, as they do not want the broth to become cloudy. They may also use oysters, a local specialty, or fillets of yellowtail. In Yamaguchi, zoni is made with clear broth, roasted small mochi, and boiled large fillets of yellowtail. A distinctive feature is the addition of small amounts of taro and shiraga kelp. In Shikoku, Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture has a unique round mochi zoni filled with sweet bean paste. In Matsuyama, Ehime, oval-shaped mochi are roasted and added, taking care not to burn, and mizuna is added to make the broth clear.

In Kyushu, Hakata's zoni is unique. A large piece of rice cake and a slice of salted yellowtail are placed in a bowl, with slices of daikon radish placed at the bottom of the bowl. In Kumamoto, the soup is made with dried squid and kelp, and it is topped with grilled tofu, daikon radish, carrots, burdock, and boiled small round rice cakes. In Kagoshima, dried shrimp is used in the soup stock, so in December you can see shrimp being dried in front of each household for the New Year. Nagasaki's zoni is called fin soup, and is a luxurious dish that contains slices of sea bream, kuruma prawns, sea cucumbers, and more. Zoni has its own unique features throughout the country, and there are some differences between households, but most are easy to digest and highly nutritious.

[Tetsunosuke Tada]

[Reference] | Mochi

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

魚貝、野菜など数種の材料を煮合わせた汁に餅(もち)を加えた羹(あつもの)。雑煮餅ともいう。主として正月三が日の祝い膳(ぜん)に用いる。雑煮とはごった煮の意であるが、古く上方(かみがた)では五臓を保養するものとして保臓(ほうぞう)とよんだ。四条流園部(そのべ)派で臓煮の字をあてるのもこの例。宮中の女房詞(ことば)では烹雑(ほうぞう)（ぼうぞうともいい、烹は煮るの意）といった。

　もともと神祭に供えた神饌(しんせん)を下げて、神と氏子など参加者が共食する「直会(なおらい)」に起源をもち、さらにそれが年頭の年神迎えの供物を食べることをさすようになった。九州各地で正月の雑煮をナオライあるいはその訛語(かご)でよぶのはこのためである。餅については、年始に鏡餅、大根、瓜(うり)、猪(いのしし)や鹿(しか)の肉などを食べて長寿を願う歯固(はがた)めの行事が古くからあり、これがのち雑煮に加えられるようになったのであろう。

　雑煮に用いる箸(はし)は柳が多く用いられ、中太で両端を細く削ってある。その由来は、足利(あしかが)7代の幼将軍義勝(よしかつ)（1434―43）のとき、元朝儀式の箸が折れ、その7月には落馬により夭折(ようせつ)したため、以後太箸に改めたことによるという。江戸時代、浅草の市(いち)では雑煮箸を「おかんばし」とよんで売っていたが、これは上方や新吉原の廓(くるわ)内に残っていた雑煮の古称「羹(かん)」（あつもの）によるものである。箸袋は、家族それぞれ、鶴(つる)、亀(かめ)、松竹梅などの文字を書き、父が鶴で母が亀などと定めていた。

　朝鮮半島でも正月に餅とスープのトックッ（湯餅(タンピョン)）を食べる。雑煮のようなものである。

［多田鉄之助］

種類

雑煮は関東風と関西風に大別できるが、その地方に産するものをおもに用いるため各地各様のものがあって、その種類は著しく多い。関東風は澄まし汁仕立てで、鶏肉か鴨(かも)肉、小エビ、かまぼこ、ゴボウ、コマツナまたはホウレンソウ、ダイコン、サトイモ、シイタケなどに切り餅を焼いて加える。のりを添えることもあり、吸い口に切りユズを散らすのが原型である。関西では京都のものが古い歴史があり、関西風の代表型ともいえる。白みそ仕立てで丸小餅を湯煮して用いる。ヤツガシラ、ダイコン、焼き豆腐などを加え、花がつおを散らす。細かく切った塩ブリを加えることもある。みそ仕立ての雑煮は、大阪、神戸、岡山とほぼ同じ形態である。岡山には澄まし汁仕立てもあるが、これより西は澄まし汁仕立てが多い。関東の雑煮にみそを用いないのは、武士が「みそをつける」ということばを嫌ったためという説がある。また、京都でヤツガシラを用いるのは、人の頭にたてという意もあるが、ことばよりも味本位で、これが材料に用いられている。

　各地の雑煮の特色をあげると、北海道は澄まし汁仕立ての汁に、サケの切り身とすじこをいっしょに加え、ハクサイを用いる。切り餅の白さとサケの赤みの対照がいい。秋田、山形の雑煮にはすじこを入れ、焼き豆腐を短冊形に切って加える。つきたての餅を水に浸して水餅にし、必要に応じて取り出して使う。東北地方で異色の雑煮は仙台のものである。ハモの焼き干し、削りかつお、干しタコの三つを用いてだしをとるが、簡単な方法としては焼き干しのハゼを用いる。ゴボウ、ダイコン、ニンジンに特産の仙台ハクサイを入れてつくる。福井の雑煮は薄切りのカブを葉とともに加えるのが特色で、古くはみそ仕立てであったが、いまは澄まし汁仕立てのものもある。

　名古屋の雑煮は、高名に通じるの意からタカナを用いる。奈良の雑煮はみそ仕立てで、のし餅の角切りを焼いて加える。広島の雑煮は澄まし汁仕立てで、汁の濁るのを嫌う。名産のカキを用いることもあるし、ブリの切り身を使うこともある。山口の雑煮は澄まし汁仕立てで、小餅を焼いて加え、大きいブリの切り身をゆでて用いる。これにサトイモ、白髪(しらが)昆布を少々加えるのが特色といえる。四国では、香川県高松の餡(あん)入りの丸餅雑煮が風変わりである。愛媛県の松山では、小判形の餅を焦げないように焼いて入れ、ミズナを加えて澄まし汁仕立てにする。

　九州では博多(はかた)の雑煮が変わっている。椀(わん)に大きな切り餅と塩ブリの切り身が入り、椀の底には輪切りのダイコンが敷いてある。熊本ではスルメと昆布のだしで澄まし汁仕立てにし、焼き豆腐、ダイコン、ニンジン、ゴボウに湯煮した丸小餅を用いる。鹿児島では干しエビをだしに用いるので、12月に入ると各戸の前に正月用のエビを乾燥させているのをみることができる。長崎の雑煮はお鰭(ひれ)吸い物といって、タイの切り身やクルマエビ、ナマコなどが入る豪華なものである。雑煮は全国それぞれの特色があり、各戸でも多少の相違はあるが、消化がよく栄養価の高いものが多い。

［多田鉄之助］

[参照項目] | 餅

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