Ozoni

Ingredients

• 4 square kirimochi rice cakes
• 200g boneless chicken thigh
• 1 tsp sake, for the chicken
• 1 tsp soy sauce, for the chicken
• 1 litre dashi
• 2 tbsp usukuchi (light-coloured) soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tbsp mirin
• 1/2 tsp fine salt
• 200g komatsuna or spinach
• 1 small carrot
• 4 slices pink and white kamaboko fish cake
• 4 strips yuzu zest, or lemon zest
• 8 mitsuba stems, optional

Before you cook

• Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and toss them with the teaspoon each of sake and soy sauce.
• Peel the carrot and cut it into 5mm rounds, then stamp each round out with a small flower cutter if you have one.
• Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the komatsuna for 1 minute, then plunge it into cold water.
• Squeeze the greens dry and cut them into 4cm lengths.
• Pare four thin strips of yuzu or lemon zest, avoiding the white pith.
• Blanch the mitsuba stems for 5 seconds and tie each pair into a loose knot if you want the traditional garnish.

Steps

1. Pour the dashi into a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer.
2. Add the carrot rounds and cook for 5 minutes until they are just tender.
3. Slide in the chicken pieces one at a time so they do not clump, and simmer for 6 minutes.
4. Skim the surface carefully with a spoon until the broth runs clear, because this soup is meant to look transparent.
5. Season the broth with the usukuchi soy sauce, sake, mirin and salt, then taste and adjust so it is delicate rather than salty.
6. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and keep the broth hot without letting it boil.
7. Heat your grill or a toaster oven to high.
8. Lay the mochi squares on a foil-lined tray with space between them, since they spread as they cook.
9. Grill for 4 minutes until the tops blister, swell and split open with a golden crust.
10. Turn each square over and grill for 2 more minutes.
11. Drop a grilled mochi into the bottom of each warmed bowl straight from the grill.
12. Ladle the hot broth over the mochi, then add the chicken, carrot and greens around it.
13. Lay a slice of kamaboko against the side of each bowl and add a knot of mitsuba.
14. Float a strip of yuzu zest on top and serve at once, before the mochi dissolves into the broth.