Book of Days Tales

The Festival of Seven Herbs or Nanakusa no sekku (七草の節句) is the long-standing Japanese custom of eating seven-herb rice porridge (七草粥, nanakusa-gayu) on January 7^th (Jinjitsu); one of the Gosekku (five imperial annual celebrations).

The seventh of the first month has been an important Japanese festival since ancient times. Jingchu Suishiji, written in the Six Dynasties China (3^rd to 6^th centuries CE), recorded the Southern Chinese custom of eating a hot soup that contained seven vegetables to bring longevity and health and ward off evil on the 7th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. Since there is little green at that time of the year, the young green herbs bring color to the table and eating them comports with the spirit of the New Year. The custom can still be found in parts of rural Guangdong province and Taiwan.

The traditional 7 greens are:

Seri (Watercress)

Suzana  (Turnip greens)

Suzushiro (Daikon/radish greens)

Nazuna (Shepherd’s Purse )

Hakobera  (Chickweed)

Hotoke gusa (Cotton Sow Thistle)

Gogyo (Cudweed)

Here is a slightly altered recipe for cooks outside rural China:

Ingredients

1200 ml cups of water
10-15 gm dried kombu (kelp)
1 small turnip
5 cm daikon/mooli/radish
1 cup baby spinach leaves
½ cup daikon leaves or kale stems
1 cup of watercress
1 bunch of chives, chopped
1 cup of kale, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

Make kombu stock. Wipe the Kombu with a clean cloth, kombu shouldn’t be washed. Fill a deep pot with water and soak the kombu for about a minimum of 30 minutes or even overnight. Heat the water up slowly and when the water comes to a boil, take out the kombu and remove the stock from the heat.

Wash the rice thoroughly in a sieve for no less than 2 minutes, constantly turning the rice over until the water turns clear. Drain the rice.

Peel and grate the daikon with your grater.

Cut the turnip into 1cm small cubes.

Chop the daikon leaves and/or kale stems, and chives, finely.

Chop the watercress and kale cut, roughly.

Drain the rice and add, along with the daikon and turnip, into the stock. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat. Cook the rice with the lid for another 20-30 minutes until cooked.

Finally, add the watercress, daikon leaves (or kale stems), and spinach before bringing back to the boil. Add salt and soy sauce to your taste.

Serve in a bowl and add the chives on top as well as any toppings or garnish of your choosing.