Happy Near Year everyone!
The new year is a very important time of year for the Japanese. The holiday is filled with customs and traditions, and a lot of those traditions involve new year’s food, or Osechi Ryōri. There is a whole variety of food prepared for the occassion, and each dish is selected for some symbolic reason.
This particular dish is called Matsukaze Yaki, matsu meaning pine, kaze meaning wind, and yaki meaning grilled. All tpgether the dish translates as “wind in the pines,” which demonstrates the poetry with which the Japanese often view their food. This loaf doesn’t have any particular symbolism for the new year, but is thought to bring good luck since it’s named after the auspicious pine tree!
While a new year’s dish, this chicken can be made year round and is a great basic dish to add to a meal. While traditionally made with poppy seeds, I like using sesame seeds, so feel free to use whichever you like! To keep it a little lighter, I blended in some tofu as I often do with ground meat, so be prepared for a light, flavorful dish to celebrate with!
Recipe – Traditional New Year’s Chicken Loaf:
– Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap the tofu in a paper towel for ten minutes to pull out excess moisture.
– Mix the miso, mayonnaise, mirin, sake and soy sauce in a small bowl until blended.
– Add all the ingredients except the sesame seeds into a large bowl. Mix until well blended to achieve a smooth consistency.
– Pour mixture into a 9×9 inch baking pan and use wet hands to press it flat. Take care to spread it out smoothly and avoid making any air bubbles inside! Once smooth, sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.
– Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until there is no clear liquid coming out when prodded with a knife. Remove the loaf from the pan, then trim off the edges and cut into bite size squares.
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