Japan¡¯s closest answer to mulled wine is probably o-toso, a sake infused with spices, herbs and dried fruit, and sometimes lightly honeyed. The beverage is traditionally drunk as a toast to health and longevity during New Year celebrations.
Recipes for o-toso vary, but they usually comprise a medicinal blend of herbs that ties in with the drink¡¯s salubrious connotation. Some commonly used spices include sansh¨ Sichuan pepper to improve circulation, benihana safflower to fight inflammation and fennel to aid digestion.
The recipe below uses the flavors of o-toso to spice a matcha tea cake. Its blend of medicinal spices also recreates some of the notes you would find in a traditional Christmas cake: cloves to improve liver function, dried ginger to soothe tired muscles, cinnamon for heart health and dried mikan mandarin peel powder to lower cholesterol.
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