Hiroko’s Diary

My family spent several days from the end of the last year to the new year at my parents’ house in Izumisano. Every year my mother makes “Osechi-Ryori”, Japanese traditional dishes for a new year. I help her cooking. Therefore, on the 31st of Dec. is the bisiest day for my mother troughout a year. She cooks about 20 kinds of dishes. These days in Japan, it is said that people don’t cook “Osechi-Ryori” at home. One of the reasons is that they don’t like those dishes. Especially, young people prefer more westernized dishes. But in my family’s case, all of us love “Osechi-Ryori”. Those are very healthy and tasty. Each dish has a good meaning. For instance, shrimp represent longevity. Shrimp looks like a man bent with age.

In that sense, I really respect my mother. I’ve never cooked “Osechi-Ryori” by myself. I think I can do it. But I don’t know how long it takes for me to cook all the dishes. Probably more than two days!