Butterbur Ohitashi (ふきのお浸し, Fuki no Ohitashi)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide pot or fish poacher for blanching long stems
• •Bamboo zaru or colander
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth for dashi
• •Small knife for lifting the fuki peel

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat. Pull the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and let the flakes sink for two or three minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine sieve and let it drip without pressing.

   Boiling the konbu makes the stock bitter and slick. Squeezing the flakes presses out strong, oily flavors. Dashi is simple, but it rewards restraint.
2. 2

   Season the soak

   Measure 1 1/2 cups of the dashi for the ohitashi. Bring the mirin to a brief simmer in a small pan for about thirty seconds, just to soften its raw edge, then add the dashi, usukuchi shōyu, and sea salt. Taste it. It should be clean and lightly seasoned, not soy-dark. Cool it completely, because a hot soaking liquid dulls the fuki's color and keeps cooking what you have just blanched.

3. 3

   Salt-roll the fuki

   Trim the fuki stems to fit your widest pot, keeping them as long as you can. Sprinkle them with the coarse salt on a cutting board and roll them firmly under your palms until the surface looks damp and slightly roughened. This is itazuri. It removes the fine fuzz, draws out some harsh green juices, and helps the stems blanch to a clearer color.

4. 4

   Blanch and chill

   Bring a wide pot of water to a strong boil. Add the salted fuki, salt and all, and blanch for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on thickness, until a stem bends without snapping but is not limp. Lift the stems straight into cold water. The blanch loosens the skin and tames the aku, the raw harshness of spring greens. The cold water stops the cooking so the stems stay crisp enough to peel cleanly.

   Fuki is not eaten raw. The blanch and soak are not fussiness. They make the bitterness pleasant instead of rough.
5. 5

   Peel the stems

   Starting at the thick end, catch the outer skin with a fingernail or the tip of a small knife, gather several strings together, and pull them down the length of the stem. Turn the stem and repeat until the tough outer layer is gone. If a strip breaks, start again from the other end. The peel is the one thing that punishes impatience here. Leave it on and every bite turns fibrous.

6. 6

   Soak and cut

   Put the peeled stems in fresh cold water for 20 to 30 minutes, changing the water once. Taste a small end piece. It should still be pleasantly bitter and grassy, not harsh on the tongue. Drain well, then cut the stems on a slight diagonal into 4cm lengths. The diagonal gives each piece a clean face and lets the dashi enter without making the plate look busy.

7. 7

   Steep the fuki

   Lay the cut fuki in a shallow dish and pour over the cooled seasoned dashi. Press a piece of parchment or plastic wrap directly on the surface so every piece stays covered. Refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to overnight. This is ohitashi, soaked food. The seasoning enters slowly, so the stems taste of fuki first and broth second.

8. 8

   Plate with ma

   Lift the fuki from the dashi and arrange five or seven pieces in a small bowl, building a little height and leaving empty space at one side. Spoon over just enough soaking liquid to give a clear shine at the bottom. Finish with a few flakes of katsuobushi, or one kinome leaf if you have it. Serve cool or at room temperature.

Chef Tips

• •Buy fuki in spring, while the stems are firm, green, and moist at the cut ends. If they are floppy, browned, or hollow-feeling, change the dish. Nanohana or spinach will make a fine ohitashi, but tired fuki will not become good under sauce.
• •Keep the stems long through blanching and peeling. Long stems are easier to strip cleanly, and you can cut them neatly after the bitterness has been tamed.
• •Don't soak the peeled fuki all day in plain water. You want to remove harshness, not erase the vegetable. A little bitterness is the point, and shun often speaks with an edge.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi from konbu and dried shiitake instead of katsuobushi. That is honmono in the temple-kitchen way, not a compromise. Leave off the bonito garnish and use kinome if you can find it.
• •Plate less than the bowl can hold. Fuki is a slender spring vegetable, not a heap. A few green lengths, a shine of dashi, and empty space will say more than a crowded dish.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Keep it covered so it holds its aroma.
• •The seasoned dashi can be made 1 day ahead. Chill it before adding the fuki so the stems keep their color.
• •The finished fuki can steep overnight and is often better for it. Serve within 24 hours for the cleanest color and flavor.
• •Garnish only at the end. Katsuobushi softens quickly, and kinome bruises if it sits in the soaking liquid.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 120g)