🍚 Shiro Miso Zou-ni (White Miso Rice Cake Soup)

The traditional New Year's soup (Zou-ni) in Tokushima prefecture is known for its distinctive characteristics. For instance, the "Uchigae Zou-ni" enjoyed in Iya district features a soy sauce-flavored broth made with "iriko dashi" (Japanese soup stock with small dried fish), and instead of rice cakes, it includes hard and stone-like firm tofu called "Iwa-dofu" (Rock tofu). Other regions also use various types of rice cakes, such as round or square rice cakes, and clear Dashi(Japanese soup stock). One of the most eaten is "Shiro Miso Zou-ni" (cloudy white miso soup). It is made by dissolving white Miso paste in Dash(Japanese soup stock) made from dried sardines and kombu(kelp). In addition to rice cakes and fish cakes, as in most "Zou-ni," a variety of vegetables such as carrots, daikon radishes, komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach), and satoimo (Japanese taro) are used as ingredients. The "Zou-ni" is rich in color and has a gentle flavor. Incidentally, some families in Katsuura area eat white miso "Zou-ni" with brown sugar, and some families in Aioi area eat white miso "Zou-ni" with sugar.