Otoso: New Year's Spiced Sake
Two years ago, when I woke up on New Year's day at an onsen in Kurokawa, otoso was served alongside an elaborate osechi spread.
Otoso is a bitter, sweet, and medicinal spiced sake for New Year’s, said to chase away sickness for the coming year. The characters 屠蘇, means to slaughter bad luck and be revived. It is typically served in from a laquerware pot into shallow cups, but at the onsen, they used ceramic cups.
The color of otoso can vary, but the otoso I had two years ago was very dark.
Osechi and otoso go hand in hand, as they are enjoyed together during the first few days of the new year. Here is the osechi spread I had at the onsen alongside the otoso.
While I slept on it for New Years in 2024, I decided to make it my mission to make otoso this year. Most of the Japanese recipes say "buy an otoso teabag pack at your grocery store, and dunk it into sake and mirin overnight." I had been asking around importers and distributors I knew in the Bay Area if they carried the otoso pack, but found that no one could source it.
So I decided to make my own otoso from scratch. Using a combination of asking around, watching people make otoso online, and conjuring up my memories of how it tastes, I created my own recipe. Some herbs were unknown to me, so I enlisted the help of my Taiwanese friend who procured most of these herbs for me in Chinatown. Thank you A-san!!!
Like umeshu, this is a fun, simple project that makes you feel in tune with the season. And like osechi, each component of otoso has a meaning. Feel free to swap or add your own flare to the spice and herb mix. You may not find everything where you live in my recipe, so find herbs and spices unique to your region and give it your own touch. It is said that each family Japan has their own recipe.
INGREDIENTS
1.8L Sake*
50g (40ml) Honey* - anti-viral
15g Bellflower root – boosts respiratory
10g Cang zhu - dries dampness
10g Licorice - soothes throat
8g (1 stick, halved) Cinnamon - improves heart
5g Yuzu and/or mandarin peel - lowers cholesterol
5g Benihana (safflower) - fights inflammation
5g Cloves -improves liver
5g Fennel - aids digestion
4g Dried ginger - soothes muscles
2g Sichuan pepper - improves circulation
*Most otoso recipes use about 1/3 mirin to 2/3 sake, but as it's hard to get real deal hon-mirin in the U.S., I opted to use all sake and add honey infused sake instead. If you end up using mirin, skip the honey.
METHOD
1. Gather all of your spices.
2. Dissolve the honey in 50g or sake. I heated up my sake in a carafe and added the honey into it. If it doesn't dissolve well, pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds at a time. Let cool.
3. Put all of your spices in a large jar that fits 2L.
4. Add all of the sake into the jar.
5. Add the honey mixture on top.
6. Store for up to two days in the fridge. You can taste as the days go by, but I noticed it started to taste really intense by day two.
7. After steeping, strain the mixture. I used cheesecloth on a bowl.
8. Golden otoso!
9. If you have an otoso set, you can serve it in there. I like to sip it in a glass, so I can see the color. Enjoy chilled or at room temperature.
Kayoko said it reminded her of amaro, which makes sense because both otoso and amaro are made with roots, citrus, dried flowers, and spices. They are both historically known to have been enjoyed for their medicinal and restorative characteristics.
Enjoy the bitter, sweet, and medicinal complexities of otoso this year and beyond. Happy New Year!
