Year-end and new years time is rather important to Japanese people - when family members get together and celebrate the new year. It's like Christmas in Western culture. It may be that we also like to start something fresh. So the celebrating the start of year somewhat appeals to our mind?
From the year-end to new years time, we eat a number of "lucky" dish. The reason why they are considered lucky is often quite simple; colour or puns. It seems rather odd that we yet stick with these colour or puns to seriously celebrate new years.
Although I decided to stay in London, it was difficult for me to abandon the entire custom of new years tradition I am so used to. It would feel too weird eating the usual food over the year end and new years time. It has already made me feel strange to work until 31st December and start working from the 2nd January. In Japan, the period from 31st December to 3rd January is bank holiday.
I decided to make some new years dish, but very small potions. Since it is super traditional Japanese dishes, I knew I probably had to go to Japanese grocery shops to get the proper ingredients. I went to West End.
I went to my usual shop first. I didn't find anything basically. They are all selling the usual stuff. I went to another shop nearby I usually don't go to. It was the same. Basically nothing new years related.
I went to the third shop. The same situation. Except I found a pack of cooked black beans (Kuromame) which I was intending to cook myself. Job done already. But not much fun. I half gave up on cooking anything for new years but I realised I could buy some frozen Satoimo (taro potato). That was all I have got from the shop.
Later I found from my colleague that ingredients for new years dishes were actually available in grocery shops in North London where majority of Japanese expats families live. Japanese people who would shop in central London would probably go away during the new years time or don't bother cooking new years dish by their own, like myself until this year.
Anyway all I have got useful is, cooked black beans and frozen taro, and mochi (rice cake).
I also bought some soba noodles for the year end dish - we eat soba noodles on 31st December, I vaguely knew the meaning of it. Because noodle is long, it is associated with a long life. I didn't know why but we want to eat something to wish a long life on new years eve.
Here I found an interesting article to explain the meaning of soba on Nikkei Newspaper (24th December 2012). Not only wishing for a long life but there are also two other meanings.
1. As Soba noodle is easy to split in the middle, it is compared to splitting up with bad luck or troubles.
2. Jewellers used to use Soba dumplings to collect powdery gold, which lead to the idea of "collecting gold = money".
Luckily the company I work for decided to have a half day on Christmas eve and the new years eve. So I stopped by Borough Market in the afternoon of new years eve but without much hope of finding anything to do with Japanese new years dish. But! I found a beautiful piece of duck breast!
This is something nice about British food market; unusual meat is easily attainable, such as a whole chicken (you would hardly find it at super markets in Japan), venison (almost impossible to find at the normal super market or butchers), aaaand, duck.
My mind was set to make "kamo seiro" soba. Looked all right with a piece of duck breast, duck meatballs with spring onions. But I definitely have to work on the flavour side. Maybe next year?
New years dish will be on the next report....
