Ozoni (お雑煮) – Japanese New Year Soup with Mochi

Ozoni, also called zoni in Japanese, is the soup for the Japanese New Year. Many families eat it for breakfast on the first days of January. Every region cooks its own version. In Kanto around Tokyo, you grill square mochi and put them in a clear dashi with soy sauce. In Kansai people cook round mochi in a broth with white miso.

By Laura Chen· November 4, 2026

40 Mintotal

4servings

350kcal

JapaneseCuisine ›

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This recipe follows the Kanto style. You season the broth with light soy sauce, salt and a splash of sake; it should stay clear and light. Chicken thighs, pink-and-white fish cake, carrot and spinach go in. For fragrance, put a thin spiral of yuzu zest on top. You toast the mochi in the oven or in a pan until they puff up and get brown spots. In the hot broth they turn soft and chewy inside.

Cook the broth following the recipe for Awase dashi. Shape your own mochi with the instructions for Mochi. Leftover mochi end up sweet in Zenzai with azuki beans.

Image: AI-generated.

Ozoni (お雑煮) – Japanese New Year Soup with Mochi

Name: Ozoni (お雑煮) – Japanese New Year Soup with Mochi
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: 1.2 l dashi (from kombu and bonito flakes); 1 tbsp sake; 1 tbsp light soy sauce (usukuchi); 1/2 tsp salt; 200 g skinless chicken thigh, in small pieces; 1 small carrot, in 3 mm (⅛ in) slices; 100 g baby spinach or komatsuna; 8 slices kamaboko (Japanese fish cake); 8 square kirimochi (about 400 g); 1 strip yuzu zest or unwaxed lemon zest; Mitsuba (Japanese parsley), for garnish

Laura Chen

Servings

Prep time

15 Minuten

Cook time

25 Minuten

Calories

350

Cuisine

Japanese

Ingredients

For the broth:

1.2 l dashi (from kombu and bonito flakes)
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp light soy sauce (usukuchi)
1/2 tsp salt

For the toppings:

200 g skinless chicken thigh, in small pieces
1 small carrot, in 3 mm (⅛ in) slices
100 g baby spinach or komatsuna
8 slices kamaboko (Japanese fish cake)
8 square kirimochi (about 400 g)
1 strip yuzu zest or unwaxed lemon zest
Mitsuba (Japanese parsley), for garnish

Instructions

Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 1 minute, shock it in cold water and squeeze it out. Cut it into 4 cm (1½ in) pieces.
Bring the dashi to a boil. Add the chicken and carrot, skim off the foam and simmer gently for 10 minutes, until the meat is cooked.
Season the broth with the sake, soy sauce and salt. Taste; the broth should be clear and mildly salty.
Preheat the oven broiler or heat a nonstick pan without fat. Toast the mochi for 6 to 8 minutes, turning once, until they puff up and have brown spots.
Lay the kamaboko slices in the hot broth for 1 minute to warm them.
Put two mochi in each warmed bowl and arrange the chicken, carrot, kamaboko and spinach around them.
Pour the hot broth over, put a piece of yuzu zest and mitsuba on top and serve the soup at once.

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Ozoni (お雑煮) – Japanese New Year Soup with Mochi

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