Tokyo-Style Ozouni

“Ozouni” is the traditional Japanese mochi soup for New Year’s. There are many regional versions of “Ozouni” in Japan and the flavors vary greatly so it is always important to indicate where the “Ozouni” comes from. Some are soy sauce based, some are sweet miso flavor, some uses fish broth, some uses kelp broth, and some uses chicken broth. Within the soup are veggies and meat, which also vary, as does the shape of the mochi itself. Even with Tokyo style “Ozouni” there are some variations depending on your family. Therefore I will call my “Ozouni” Tokyo style Sullivan Ozouni!

Tokyo-Style Ozouni

·      1000ml of bonito dashi broth

·      ½ lb of boneless chicken thighs

·      2 to 3 inches of Daikon radish

·      1 carrot

·      5 shitake mushrooms

·      6 tablespoons of Japanese sake

·      6 tablespoons of light color soy sauce

·      6 tablespoons of mirin (Japanese sweet wine)

·      ¾ to 1 teaspoon of kosher salt

·      some mochi

·      optional: mitsuba parsley

·      optional: yuzu peel

1.     Cut the chicken thighs into small bite size pieces. Cut daikon into quarter rounds and ¼ inch thick. Cut the carrots into round ¼ inch thick slices. Cut shiitake into thin slices, about 10 slices per inch.

2.     Combine cut boneless chicken thighs and broth in a pot and heat to a boil.

3.     Add daikon radish, carrots and shiitake mushrooms, and simmer until the vegetables turn soft.

4.     Add sake, light-colored soy sauce, mirin, and kosher salt and simmer on low heat to allow the taste of the broth soak into the vegetables.

5.     Grill the mochi in a pan or broil them in the oven until puffy and slightly browned.

6.     Put some broth in the bowl first before adding the mochi. Then add the mochi to the individual bowls. This will help to prevent the mochi from sticking to the bowl. Then finish serving the soup with veggies and meat over the mochi. Garnish with mitsuba parsley and/or yuzu peel.

Chicken Tatsuta Sandwich (Japanese Crispy Chicken Sandwich)

This is one of the popular sandwiches at the burger place in Japan. The soy souce and the ginger flavor go really well with the cabbage and soft burger bun. Try this out and I am sure you will love it!

Chicken Tatsuta Sandwich (Japanese Crispy Chicken Sandwich)

(Serves 4)

·      4 to 8 slices of Tatsuta-Age (Recipe: Tatsuta-Age (Deep Fried Chicken))

·      4 hamburger buns, preferably egg rolls

·      2 cups of cabbage, cut into thin strips

·      some mayonnaise

·      some butter

1.     Deep-fry the chicken Tatsuta. It is better to cut the chicken thighs at a 45 degree angle so that a piece could be bigger than bite size in order to adjust to the size of the bun. Follow the recipe for Tatsuta-Age (Deep Fried Chicken).

2.     Cut the cabbage into thin strips.

3.     Rinse the cabbage in cold running water and strain well.

4.     Slice the buns in half and warm them up in a toaster oven. Spread butter on the buns.

5.     These are the soft and slightly sweet buns, which I prefer to use.

6.     On the bottom half of the bun, put the adequate amount of cabbage strips.

7.     Put the fried chicken Tatsuta then pour mayonnaise over it and put on the top half of the bun. Serve.

Tatsuta-Age (Deep Fried Chicken)

Here is one of my delicious Japanese-style fried chicken recipes! The chicken is seasoned in soy sauce marinade and when fried, its color becomes the tone of red leaves. This reminds people of red leaves floating on the Tatsuta-gawa River. It's the perfect recipe for the foliage season and a great recipe for parties, dinner, and lunch box.

To create the feeling of fall, I served the chicken on the dining table set with foliage-inspired decor. 

Chopstick rests shaped like Japanese maple leaves.

Paper patterned with Japanese maple leaves.

Tatsuta-Age (Deep Fried Chicken)

(Serves 6 to 8)

·      2 lbs of boneless chicken thighs

·      4 tablespoons of soy sauce

·      2 tablespoons of Japanese Sake

·      2 tablespoons of Mirin (Japanese sweet wine)

·      ¼ of lemon, freshly squeezed into juice

·      1 tablespoons of ground ginger juice

·      potato starch (corn starch)

·      vegetable oil

1.     Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

2.     In a medium size bowl or a stainless steel tray, mix the soy sauce, Sake, Mirin, lemon juice, and ginger sauce. Add the chicken into the mixture and marinate well using hands and let it sit for more than an hour.

3.     In a deep frying pan, heat vegetable oil up to approximately 350°F (170℃ ). It is the right temperature when you see fine bubbles form from your wooden serving chopsticks when you dip them into the oil.

4.     Pour the potato starch into a Ziploc bag and thoroughly coat several pieces of marinated chicken with the potato starch.

5.     Fry the chicken in the oil until golden brown. Try not to fry too many pieces of chicken at a time. 

6.     Place the fried chicken onto a stainless steel rack and let it cool. Continue frying the rest of the chicken.