🍱 Haba zoni

"Haba" refers to "Haba-nori," dried seaweed from Boshu. (Haba-nori is a greenish yellowish-brown to reddish-brown spatula-shaped seaweed 15-25 cm long and 1.5-5 cm wide that is collected in winter and spring, chopped into 2 cm pieces, arranged in a bamboo screen, and dried in the sun. Originally eaten as a substitute for asakusa-nori, it was mostly consumed by local fishermen, partly because of its ugly appearance. Because of its misshapen appearance, it was mostly consumed by local fishermen, and thus became a local foodstuff. It has become a local New Year's dish because it is believed that eating "Haba Zoni" with Haba Nori in it at the beginning of the year brings good luck, saying that it will be good for one's health throughout the year. Haba-nori is grown in Kamogawa City and Minami-Boso City in the southern part of the Boso Peninsula, but it is also used in zoni in the Kujukuri area (Yamatake-gun City) and Ichihara City, which are far from the production area. Some households on the Hokuso plateau (Narita City and Sakura City) sprinkle "hiba" (dried daikon radish leaves) instead of habanori.