Vegan Mochi Shabu Shabu ビーガン餅しゃぶしゃぶ

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The year of 2019 has started.

However for many Japanese people living in Japan, it will be  the year 1 rather than 2019.   

Because it is common to count the year by Era in Japan. 

When the new emperor takes over the position it becomes the year 1.  At this moment, it is year 31 of Heisei Era, but from April 30, it will be year 1 as the son of current Emperor will be throned on this date.

It is easier for us to remember the charactaristics of the particular period when we express the year in this way.

But it is sometimes very comfusing. 

I often can't remember or am at a loss which year of A.C. any particular things happend or how old they are in reality when the years are written in the form of Era.

Anyway it is going to be the year 1 soon. (Nobody still does not know the name of the new Era.) 

2019 = 1   I must remember this.

The name of the Era could change suddenly one day, but there is another way of counting years that cannot change in this way, which is called Zodiac and characteristic about Japanese (may be Asian) year.

Zodiac has 12 kinds of animals.

(What a sweet tradition, isn't it ?)

This year is the year of Pig.

Esther, my faorite piggy

So we surely need to be nice to the piggies, especially this year.

 

How can we be nice to them ?

Think about it !

And we have to show it in our actions !!

For me, it is to spread the reality of the situations of the piggies and convince people that they are loveable and affectionate animal who deserve to be treated in the same way as dogs, cats and us  .

I made lots of piggy shaped vegan cookies and passed to my friends during New Year, telling them enjoy as much as they want, but try to reduce the consumption of the real piggy.

Now I move to the topic of New Year food. 

Which food do you think that most Japanese people consider a "must" for New Year  ?

It is definately "Mochi/glutinous rice cake".

In the countryside, there are still families pound Mochi using a big mortor and pestle made of wood at the end of the year to enjoy lots of Mochi during New Year.   

My friend, Kami san threw Mochitsuki party for us. 

Nowdays it is normal to buy the ready-made ones from the shops.

The most popular way to eat Mochi on a very first day of the New Year is "Ozoni/mochi in soup". 

But there are many ways to eat it, so from the second day onwards, people usually eat in different ways. 

We look for unusual or innovative ways of eating it as we often have lots of Mochi left in the fridge after the New Year.

Today I am sharing one of such recipes, "Vegan Mochi Shabu Shabu" with you.

When it is sliced into thin layers, mochi changes to lighter and more pleasant txture, yet is still elastic and stretchy.

So enjoy mochi's uniqte texture when you cook this heart and body warming winter recipe.

Vegan Mochi Shabu Shabu

Ingredients

 

for pot ingredients

(all the amounts are up to you)

Rectangular shaped Mochi 

Daikon/White radish with leaves

Koshin Daikon/ inside red, outside white radish (optional)

Bitamin Daikon/ green radish (optional)

Ninjin/ carrot

Naganegi/ Japanese leek 

Mizuna/ any leafy greens such as water cress, choy sym and kale

Hakusai / long cabbage

Your choice of muhroom such as Enokidake, Shimeji and Shiitake

Tofu

Kobudashi - see the recipe below

Procedure

1.  Blanch the leaves of daikon in rapidly boiling water.

2.  Take out to cold water, drain and chop rough, and then throw into the blender with some kobudashi.  Blend till pasty.

3.  Tranfer to the pot and add the rest of kobudashi.

4.  Cut the radish into thin strips (in this way radish can cook fast), the rest of the vegetables into bite sizes, and place them on a big plate presentably.

5.  Slice each mochi block into thin flat layers.  Try to slice into 6 ~7 layers.   Place them on a big plate.

6.  Prepare the portabe stove on the table and place the pot filled with green color broth prepared earlier on it.  Heat up.

7.  Take a piece of mochi with the chopstics ( or the fork ), shake it in the boiling soup saying "Shabu Shabu Shabu", then the mochi turns melty like a cheese, then quickly take it out, dip in the sauce and put it to your mouth.

8.  Add the vegetables in the soup and cook till soft.  Eat them with the dipping sauce.

Tips

* If the daikon does not come with the leaves, you can replace with other green leafy vegetable or omit them and just use the plain kobudashi.  I wanted to use the whole radish without wasting the leafy part, which is considered the basic of Macrobiotics, "Eat Whole" .

＊The remaining soup in the pot is full of vegetable essence, so enjoy it with the seasoning of your choice or add the rice to make it into rich porriage.

for Dipping Sauce

1. Ponzu

100ml Yuzu juice

150ml Soy sauce

10g Kombu sea vegetable

Combine all the ingredients in a jar and keep in the fridge for a minimum of one week.   

2. Gomadare/ Sesame sauce

6 Tbsp sesame paste

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp rice vinegar

2 Tbsp unrefined sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 Tbsp Kobu dashi/Kombu sea vegetable broth - see the recipe below

Combine all the ingredients.  You can use it straight away.

Kobudashi

Soak 10g kombu in 1000m of water in a pot overnight.  

The next day, remove kombu and heat up the liquid.

Scum off the foam on the surface and then cool down in the room temperature.

Happy Cooking !

タグ：Japanese New Year mochi ビーガンクッキー マクロビオティック しゃぶしゃぶ ビーガン 餅 人参 クレソン しめじ 水菜 えのき 豆腐 白菜 大根 大根の葉 ねぎ pig macrobiotics Vegan Ozoni zodiac Japanese Era ビーガンしゃぶしゃぶ Daikon Shabu Shabu