← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 240 ml water, for soaking the shiitake
• 350 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 100 g Burdock root (gobo), scrubbed, cut into diagonal chunks
• 150 g Lotus root, peeled, cut into 1 cm half-moons
• 1 Carrot, cut into chunks
• 200 g taro (satoimo), peeled, cut into chunks (optional)
• 90 g Bamboo shoots, cut into chunks
• ½ Konnyaku (konjac block), torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar, for soaking the roots
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
• 300 ml Dashi powder or stock
• 3 tbsp Sake
• 3 tbsp Mirin
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 3 tbsp Soy sauce
• 10 Mangetout (snow peas), blanched, to garnish

Method

1. Soak the dried shiitake in the water for 30 min, until soft. Squeeze them out, keep the soaking liquid and cut the caps in half.
2. Drop the burdock and lotus root into a bowl of water with the vinegar as you cut them, so they stay pale. Boil the konnyaku for 2 min to remove its smell, then drain.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a wide pan over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken for 3 min, until the outside turns white.
4. Add the drained roots, carrot, taro, bamboo shoots, konnyaku and shiitake and stir-fry for 2–3 min, until everything is coated in oil.
5. Pour in the dashi, 100 ml of the shiitake liquid, sake, mirin and sugar. Bring to the boil, skim, then cover with a drop lid and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 min.
6. Add the soy sauce and simmer for 10–15 min more, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through (75°C / 165°F).
7. Remove the lid and toss over medium-high heat for 2–3 min, until the sauce is almost gone and everything is glossy. Serve warm or at room temperature with the snow peas.

Tips

• It tastes even better the next day, so it is ideal for bento or New Year osechi.
• Leave out the chicken and use kombu-shiitake stock for a vegan version.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Chopstick Chronicles Japanese Cooking 101