Japanese Tradition: Rice & 7 Veggies

Finding it hard to get back into healthy eating after a full holiday of sweet treats, rich foods, and delectable indulgences?

Here’s an idea to finally kick-start those healthy-lifestyle New Year’s resolutions! ...

It’s called ‘nanakusa’ (七草).

This traditional day takes place on the 7^th of January every year on the Japanese calendar. Nanakusa directly translates to ‘seven herbs’ – nana meaning seven, and kusa meaning grasses (or herbs).

This Japanese tradition stems from the wisely-identified need to rest the stomach after weeks of subjecting it to the gruelling digestion of all that buttery, greasy, sugary, creamy, intense holiday food!

Eating a clean bowl of rice mixed with seven vegetables on the 7^th of January is the perfect solution! As per tradition, a Japanese dish called ‘nanakusa-gayu’ (七草粥) is usually prepared, much to the delight of our weary stomachs!

My family partakes in the tradition annually, and this year, I want to share it with you all because anyone can try this dish any day of the year!

Nanakusa-gayu is a porridge-like soup of rice and herbs and is quite the cure for a belly in holiday hangover!

Traditionally, seven specific herbs are incorporated into the dish:

Seri – Japanese parsley/water celery

Nazuna – Shepherd’s Purse

Gogyou – Cudweed

Hakobera – Chickweed

Hotokenoza – Nipplewort

Suzuna – Turnip

Suzushiro – Daikon (a white radish)

Whenever we are in Japan for New Year’s, these herbs are abundant in the supermarkets. But here in Australia, asking your local grocers for ‘some Shepherd’s Purse and nipplewort please,’

wouldn’t get you much of a response.

That’s why I like to call it ‘rice & 7 veggies day’! We love to make the same rice porridge but instead of herbs, we pick out seven vegetables instead!

This year (yesterday, in fact) my mum concocted this wonderful rice soup and the seven vegetables she used were:

Rice & 7 Veggies

Zucchini,

Onion,

Celery,

Potato,

Sweet potato,

Shallot,

and…

Patty pan squash!

It was my first time trying patty pan squishy squash (hehe)! I’ve learned that it can also be called Sunburst squash which is an equally cute name, don’t you think?

I want to share with you the recipe for the soup we had this year! It’s not strictly nanakusa-gayu because we didn’t have the seven herbs traditionally used in Japan, but it’s still happily compliant with rice & 7 veggies day! It is wholesome, nutritious, and very tasty.

I’ve written below how to prepare the 7 veggies soup for the 7^th of January in 7 easy steps!

Sorry in advance for my very simplistic cooking vocabulary!!

Nanakusa Rice & 7 Veggies Soup

Serves: 4

1. Cut your vegetables into small pieces.

2. Pour 1 cup of rice into a saucepan and add plenty of water.

3. Put it on a boil. Don’t forget to add more water if you find that the water has run out (if it doesn’t look soupy).

4. Once the rice is cooked, lower the temperature and add a soup stock. We used fish-based dashi (a Japanese cooking stock commonly used in miso soup). For a vegetarian option, you can use kombu-based dashi or simply go without stock and just have the salt. You can find the dashi at Daiso.

Dashi - Japanese cooking stock

5. Now add some salt and some soy sauce.

6. Add in your seven vegetables of choice. Maybe put in the tougher (???) vegetables first, like the potato. You can use the veggies we used if you like, or you can use any seven herbs! On top of that, you can also add ginger and garlic if you wish (they don’t have to count in the seven!).

7. Mix well until the vegetables are all cooked. Then serve your soup! Enjoy!

There are so many combinations of vegetables, herbs, or leafy greens you can use!

I hope you enjoyed learning about a Japanese tradition held every year in January – nanakusa.

 Maybe it can be your January 7^th tradition as well!

Let’s begin those healthy New Year’s resolutions!

Love, Young and Unheroic