![]() | The Nest of Boxes, a set of japans, is a japanese traditional container for the special dishes called Osechi to celebrate a happy new year. |
In my home, we begin with a cup of green tea with a pickled ume (salted plum). |
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![]() | Decoration is important as well as its taste. |
The zodiacal sign of 1996 was a mouse. The hedgehog also watches for Osechi. |
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The first box contains happy Sho-Chiku-Bai,
a pine made of a cuttlefish,
a bamboo made of a spinach rolled by a laver,
and a plum flower made of a boiled egg. Black soybeans, herring roe, boiled and scrolled tangle, and roasted sardines with sesamis are also happy foods. A boiled fish paste and a boiled shrimp color the dishes with happy white and red. |
The second box also contains traditional relishes. Chikuzen-ni, one of my favourite dishes, is a boil of a lotus root, a burdock, a carrot, a bamboo shoot, etc with soy, sweetened sake, and brothes. |
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![]() | The third box contains original terrine and scotch egges. My mother insists the scotch egges are the eyes of the Chinese phoenix. |
Gelatinized strawberry and milk and gelatinized orange are very popular among children, while gold egges and gold chestnuts are traditional desserts. Gold is a very happy color. |
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