Zoni is a soup with rice cakes that is an indispensable part of a Japanese New Year. Each part of Japan has its own version making use of the local produce. The broth and the ingredients vary. The soup is consumed in the hope that the coming year will be a happy one. During the Muromachi period, warriors ate a rice-cake soup featuring ingredients which they believed would give them luck and help them overcome their enemies. This episode will also look at an old-fashioned rice-cake soup prepared in the village of Yamazoe in Nara Prefecture, using water and a fire that are regarded as sacred. The cook and culinary expert Tokiko Suzuki will prepare 2 types of zoni from the place of her birth. The episode will also look at some bowls suitable for serving this soup in the New Year.
