Nanakusa 七草

January 7 is the time to take down your decorations (and slow down all that New Year pigging out). In a tradition borrowed from China, we make a kind of rice porridge with 7 herbs, called nanakusa. Just be careful not to call it "nanakusai" like I did the first time - it sounds like "7 bad smells"!

The idea is that by eating this, you'll stay healthy all year - but it's also a welcome respite after all the drinking and rich, salty foods. Okayu, the rice porridge, is just like Chinese congee. If you're feeling sick, it's very gentle on the stomach. You can have it with a little cooked salmon, egg, or a salted plum (I confess, I prefer the Chinese version with chicken, shredded ginger and peanuts - especially for hangovers). So, you get your 7 herbs, which are conveniently sold in a pack, chop them up (you'll get a mini daikon - suzushiro and a mini turnip - susuna; slice those thinly), and stir them through your rice porridge. Rice cookers have a setting for okayu, or you can cheat and buy it ready made.

It tastes quite plain; I added a little grated ginger and salt, but it does make you feel quite refreshed and virtuous, ready for all the 'welcome the new year' parties to come.

The herbs: seri, nazuna, gogyo, hakobera, hotokenoza, susuna and suzushiro - all taste like grass!