Aichi Zoni (Clear New Year Soup with Square Mochi)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 35 min
- Level
- Easy
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Square rice cakes go into the clear soy-seasoned broth without grilling and turn smooth outside and soft through the middle.
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Aichi is known for dark soybean miso, yet this New Year soup uses none, keeping the broth light in color. Mochina, a traditional green from the Owari area, looks like komatsuna but is more tender and slightly sweet. It is added only after the rice cakes soften so it stays bright. A pinch of bonito flakes is the only garnish.
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Wash 80g mochina and cut into 4cm lengths.
Trim skin and hard fat from 100g chicken thigh, cut into 2cm pieces, and keep refrigerated until cooking.
- 2
Combine 600ml dashi, 1 tablespoon sake, 1 tablespoon mirin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a pot and bring to a boil.
Add the chicken, return to a boil, skim, and cook over medium heat for 4 minutes.
- 3
Add 8 ungrilled square mochi to the broth without overlapping.
Reduce to medium-low and simmer 4 to 6 minutes, until the edges soften and a chopstick enters the center.
- 4
Add the mochina and cook 2 minutes, confirming the chicken reaches at least 75°C.
Pour 2 tablespoons soy sauce around the pot, stir once, and turn off the heat just before it boils again.
- 5
Place 2 mochi in each of 4 bowls, divide the chicken and mochina evenly, and ladle over the clear broth.
Top with a share of 5g bonito flakes and serve hot.
References checked
These references were consulted when this page was prepared or corrected. A source check does not mean the recipe was independently kitchen-tested.
- 일본 농림수산성 うちの郷土料理
「あいちの郷土料理レシピ50選」 · Checked: 2026-08-11
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