Recipe by Billy Hammond

You might want to adjust the amount of shoyu and other ingredients used in this recipe to match your palate. My tastes tend to lean towards Kanto cooking, which is saltier than West Japan. The first time around, it might be best to taste the mixture as you add the soy sauce, brown sugar and mirin, adding each a little at a time. The ingredients should be available in oriental foods stores in the States. I checked with a source in Hawaii and was told that they were all available at the local supermarkets.

There are many variations to this recipe, depending on who's making it. Some folks will cut the vegetables bigger and cook everything at the same time. I prefer to make sure that the dasheens are well-cooked because the crystals in the dasheen need to be broken down by heat to prevent it from irritating the mouth.

Ingredients

• Japanese Dasheen (satoimo) 1 oyaimo (parent plant potato) or 6-8 koimo (the offshoot potatoes)
• 3 medium sized carrots
• 2 medium-sized gobo (burdock roots) or 1 long (2' or more) gobo
• 6 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 slices of aburage (deep-fried tofu)
• All-purpose kelp (banno konbu), piece about 4"x6"
• Soy Sauce (shoyu), about 1/4 cup
• Brown sugar, 2 level tbsp
• Mirin (sweet sake)2 tbsp
• Dashi (Hondashi is fine). About 1/4 tsp.

Procedure

1. Rinse the konbu under running water. Use a scissors to cut the konbu into squares an inch or so wide. Soak in water
2. Peel the dasheen(s). If you're using the oyaimo, cut it into bite-sized pieces. If you have delicate skin, wear gloves - some people get a rash when they handle raw dasheens.
3. Scrape the carrots and cut into slices between 1/2 and 3/4" thick.
4. Scrape the gobo, cut it into 1 1/2"x 1/2" slices and soak the slices in water. Drain and change the water after 2-3 minutes, then repeat the process.
5. Cut the shiitake into halves.
6. Slice the aburage into strips about 1/2" wide. Slice the strips in half. Put the strips into boiling water and boil for 3 minutes or so and then drain to remove the oil.
7. Put the dasheens, aburage and konbu in a pot and cover with water. Add the dashi, brown sugar, mirin and soy sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to keep it barely boiling. Cook for about 10 minutes or until you can poke a chopstick with some resistance into the dasheens.
8. After about 10 minutes, add the carrots, shiitake and gobo.
9. Cook until the vegetables are firm, but not mushy.
10. Allow the mixture to cool and then reheat once before serving.

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Copyright A.E.L.S., 2006. All rights reserved. This material may not be reproduced without permission.