Zoni (雑煮) is a Japanese soup containing mochi rice cakes. The dish is associated with the Japanese New Year and its tradition of ceremonial foods.
Mochi (餅) is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into the square or round shape.
The preparation of Zoni varies both by household and region. Zoni has many regional variations in Japan. My Zoni is Kanto (east Japan) style because I'm from Tokyo. In the Kanto region zoni consists of a soup which is flavoured with a stock made from dried bonito and/or kombu, and soy sauce.
Common additions to the soup include chicken or fish, vegetables such as spinach, kamaboko (Japanese fish paste), carrot and some decoration sprinkles such as Fu (麩, Japanese wheat gluten).
