Chikuzen-ni: Japanese Stewed Root Vegetable
This dish originates in the northern-most part of Kyushu, one of Japan's four main islands. Chikuzen-ni falls under the category of nimono, or boiled things. This is Japanese comfort food and this dish can be made on large quantities to keep in the fridge for bento-making, or as a side dish at dinner time.
Ingredients
- 6 small edoes (also known as taro, or satoimo in Japanese)
- 1 medium sized carrot
- 5 cm daikon
- ¼ block konyaku
- 1 sheet abura-age (crisp deep fried tofu)
- ½ sheet of kelp
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- ¼ tsp salt
Directions:
- Peel the edoes (be careful because they are slippery), carrot, and daikon and cut into 1” irregular pieces.
- Open the package of konyaku, discard the liquid and smack the the konyaku on the cutting board a few times. This helps improve the texture of konyaku. Break up the konyaku by hand into 1” pieces and boil it separately for 5 minutes.
- While the konyaku is boiling, rinse the atsuage in hot water to remove excess oil. Cut into 1” pieces.
- Cut kelp into 1” pieces.
- In a saucepan, pour ½ cup of water and kelp and bring to boil. Once a rolling boil is reached, add the edoes, carrot, daikon, and atsuage. Boil until vegetables are soft, making sure that there is enough water in the pan, adding more water as needed.
- Once the vegetables are soft, add all other ingredients and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated.
