← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 1 l Water
• 10 g kombu (a 10 cm square)
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 150 g Daikon radish, peeled, cut into thin quarter-moons
• ½ Carrot, cut into thin half-moons
• 3 small taro (satoimo), peeled, cut into chunks (optional)
• ½ Burdock root (gobo), scrubbed, thinly sliced on the diagonal (optional)
• ½ Konnyaku (konjac block)
• 200 g firm tofu
• 1 tbsp Toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Sake
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• ½ tsp Salt
• 2 Spring onion, sliced

Method

1. Soak the kombu and dried shiitake in the water for at least 30 min. Remove the kombu, squeeze the shiitake over the pot, then slice the mushrooms. Keep all the soaking liquid as your broth.
2. Cut the vegetables, dropping the burdock into a bowl of water as you go so it does not brown. Tear the konnyaku into bite-sized pieces with a spoon, boil for 2 min and drain.
3. Heat the sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir-fry the daikon, carrot, taro, drained burdock, konnyaku and shiitake for 3 min. Crumble in the tofu with your fingers and stir for 1 minute.
4. Pour in the broth and bring to the boil, skimming off any foam. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 min, until the taro and daikon are tender.
5. Season with sake, soy and salt, simmer for 2 min more and taste. Serve topped with spring onion.

Tips

• Taro can make your hands itch; peel it with gloves on or rub your hands with a little vinegar afterwards.
• Contains soy and wheat (soy sauce); use tamari for gluten-free.

Sources

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

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101 RecipeTin Japan