January 7th is Nanakusa no Sekku (also called Jinjitsu) in Japan. It is the festival of seven herbs (water dropwort, shepherd’s purse, cudweed, chickweed, nipplewort, turnip and radish), and we eat seven herb porridge to hope good health and longevity for a new year. It is also a good reminder to get back on track after eating so much foods during the holidays. It is not anything that tasty. The meal is rather basic and simple, but I think it is a good way to rest your stomach. Feel free to replace water with chicken stock although it is not traditional, or add some soy sauce at the end.

Share: