Japanese Food Tips

What is your favorite vegetable? There is a traditional vegetable called mochina which is produced only in Aichi and Gifu prefectures. It is an ingredient of Nagoya-style ozoni. Ozoni is eaten on the first three days of the New Year holidays. Mochina is also called shougatsuna. Shougatu means the New Year and na means green vegetables. Mochina is soft, bland and has high nutritional value. It contains Vitamins C, A, B1, calcium, carotene, iron and dietary fiber. During the Edo period, it was customary in this region to eat mochina with rice cakes because it was thought to bring good luck.