There is no end to the local simmered foods of Japan. This one comes from the northern area, and is both hearty and rich to satisfy during the cold months.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 100g lotus root
- 6 small taro roots (150g), peeled
- 24 thin or 12 medium green beans, topped
- 1 block (250g) konnyaku, cut into short, 5mm thick batons
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- boiling water
- 1 small carrot, scrubbed
- ½ small burdock root (100g), scrubbed
- 2 tablespoons canola (rapeseed) oil
- 300g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm cubes
- 2 large or 4 small dried shiitake, soaked in boiling water for 30 minutes and drained and thickly sliced
- 2 ½ cups (600ml) Katsuobushi Dashi
- 2 tablespoons mirin
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sake
- shichimi togarashi (seven-spice powder), optional
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 6
Method
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil with 2 tablespoons of the vinegar. Peel the lotus root, halve lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 5 cm half-rounds. Blanch the lotus root for 1 minute. Scoop out with a wire-mesh sieve. In the same pot of water used to blanch the lotus, boil the taro roots for 3 minutes. Drain, halve lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 5 cm half-moons.
In a pot of boiling salted water, blanch the green beans for 1 minute. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Cut crosswise into diagonal pieces about 3cm long. Rub the konnyaku with the salt, place in a wire-mesh sieve, and pour a steady stream of boiling water over it for 10 seconds.
Cut the carrot into 3cm triangular chunks (rangiri; see page 446). Slice the burdock crosswise into 2cm diagonal pieces and place in a medium bowl filled with cold water and the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar to avoid discoloration.
In a heavy medium-large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ingredients one at a time, starting with the hardest and ending with the softest: carrot, burdock, lotus root, taro root, konnyaku, chicken, and shiitake. Once the oil has evenly coated the ingredients, in 3–4 minutes, add the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, and sake. Place an otoshibuta (drop lid) or pan lid directly on the vegetables and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans and continue cooking until all of the vegetables have softened and are cooked through, 5 more minutes. Stirring might cause the vegetables to break into pieces, so best to pick up the pot in two hands, and roll it around to distribute the simmering liquids for even flavouring.
Serve hot or cold, garnished with shichimi togarashi, if using.
