~ winter recipe No.1 ~
日本では、1月7日の朝に七草粥を食べる習慣があります。七草にはおせち料理と同じようにそれぞれに意味があって、ビタミンや鉄分、ミネラルなど体に良いものが多く含まれています。
これを食べることによって邪気を払い、その年の無病息災を願います。この習慣は中国から伝わり、江戸時代ごろに庶民の間に広まったそうです。
各ご家庭で色んな作り方があると思いますが、私の「簡単七草粥レシピ」をご紹介します。
- ご飯 一膳
- 春の七草(せり、なずな、ごぎょう、はこべら、ほとけのざ、すずな、すずしろ)
- 水 1.5カップ
- 塩 小さじ 1
- 酒 大さじ 1.5
- ご飯を水で洗い水を切る。
- 七草を細かく刻んで、熱湯でさっと茹でる。
- 鍋にご飯と水、酒を入れ、弱火で10分ほど煮る。
- 茹でた七草を入れ、塩を加えて味を調える。
On the morning of January 7th, there is a custom of eating the rice porridge with seven spring herbs called “nanakusa-gayu” in Japan.
There are meanings for each seven herbs just same as “Osechi-ryouri,” which is eaten on the new year’s day in Japan. It contains a lot of good nutrients for your health like vitamins, iron, minerals, and so on.
By eating it, people wish for safety of the family and state of perfect health over the year. It’s also said to ward off the evil spirits. This custom was introduced into Japan from China. And then, it became popular among ordinary citizens in the Edo period.
I suppose there are many recipes for each family, let me introduce my “easy recipe of nanakusa-gayu”.
- 1.5 cup of water
- seven spring harbs (water dropwort, shepherd’s purse, cudweed, chickweed, henbit, turnip, daikon radish)
- 1 tea spoon of salt
- 1.5 table spoon of cooking sake
- Wash the rice in running water and drain it in a strainer.
- Cut the seven herbs in small pieces. And then boil it briefly in hot water.
- Put the rice, water and cooking sake in the pot. Boil it by low heat for about ten minutes.
- Put the boiled seven herbs and add the salt for flavor.
A nanakusa-gayu bowl completed cooking which tastes a little bit salty and let me feel happy on the New Year Week.