Fucha Bamboo Platter (笋羹, Shunkan)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large pot for parboiling fresh bamboo shoot
• •Wide heavy pot or donabe
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Broad Karatsu, Hagi, or Oribe serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the dashi

   Put the konbu and dried shiitake in 5 cups cold water for at least 30 minutes, or overnight if your schedule is kinder than your ambition. Wipe the konbu first with a damp cloth, but don't wash it; the pale bloom on the surface is flavor. Warm the pot slowly over low heat and lift out the konbu just before the water boils, when small bubbles climb the sides. Let the shiitake sit in the hot water off the heat for 10 minutes, then strain and reserve the caps. For this fucha dish, the konbu and shiitake stock is the proper dashi. Add no katsuobushi.

   Boiling konbu brings out bitterness and a slick edge. Dried shiitake gives more clearly after soaking, which is why it starts in cold water.
2. 2

   Parboil the bamboo

   If you're using a fresh bamboo shoot, cut a slanting inch from the tip, make one lengthwise slit through the husk, and simmer it in plenty of water with the rice bran and dried chile for 60 to 75 minutes, until a skewer slips into the thick base. Cool it in that liquid, then peel, rinse, and trim the hard root end. The rice bran helps draw out aku, the harshness that makes young bamboo taste metallic, and cooling it slowly keeps the flesh moist. If you're using prepared boiled bamboo shoot, rinse it well and blanch it for 2 minutes if it smells sour from the packet.

3. 3

   Cut the components

   Cut the bamboo into wedges about 1/2 inch thick, keeping the pieces broad enough to show the layered grain. Peel the lotus root, slice it into 1/4-inch half-moons, soak it in cool water for 5 minutes, and drain. Soak dried yuba knots in warm water for 10 minutes until pliable, or tear fresh yuba into broad folds. Trim the stems from the reserved shiitake caps and halve any large caps. Keep the sizes close; equal pieces season evenly and make the shared platter look calm.

4. 4

   Oil the surfaces

   Warm the pale sesame oil in a wide pot over medium-low heat. Add the bamboo, lotus, carrot, and shiitake, and turn them gently for 2 minutes, just until the surfaces glisten. This is fucha-ryōri showing its Chinese inheritance: a little oil gives the later broth a rounder cling. Brown the vegetables and the bamboo loses its spring quiet.

5. 5

   Simmer with dashi

   Add 3 cups of the shiitake-konbu dashi, the usukuchi shōyu, mirin, sake, sugar, and salt. Taste the broth before the drop-lid goes on. It should be slightly stronger than a soup, because bamboo and lotus drink seasoning slowly. Bring it to a quiet simmer, set a wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta) directly on the food, and cook for 18 to 22 minutes, until the bamboo is seasoned and the lotus is tender but still clean under the tooth.

   No wooden drop-lid? Cut a circle of parchment with a small hole in the center. It keeps the ingredients bathed without stirring, and stirring is what breaks a composed platter into a pot of odds and ends.
6. 6

   Add the yuba

   Lay the softened yuba on top and simmer for 5 minutes more. Yuba is soy milk skin, tender and eager to drink, so it goes in late. Put it in at the beginning and it turns limp before the bamboo has learned anything from the broth. Turn off the heat and let the pot rest for 10 minutes.

7. 7

   Gloss with kuzu

   Lift the vegetables and yuba to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Mix the kuzu starch with 2 tablespoons cold water until smooth, then stir it into the simmering broth. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the broth turns clear and lightly coats a spoon. Return the ingredients and turn them gently through the glaze. Kuzu is not here to hide poor cooking; it only gives the clear broth enough body to cling.

   Stop when the glaze is clear and light. Too much starch turns a temple platter into paste, and nobody needs that lesson twice.
8. 8

   Mound the platter

   Set the bamboo, lotus, shiitake, carrot, and yuba on a broad platter in odd clusters, building a little height rather than spreading everything flat. Spoon over just enough glaze to shine on the surfaces, then finish with kinome leaves or mitsuba. Serve warm or at room temperature with rice and a clear soup. A fucha dish is communal, yes, but communal doesn't mean crowded. Leave the platter room.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh bamboo shoot is worth buying only when it feels heavy, the base looks moist, and the cut end smells green rather than sour. If the shoots are tired or out of season, don't make a heroic purchase. Use a good boiled takenoko packed in water, or choose another vegetable platter.
• •A prepared boiled bamboo shoot is a sensible stand-in, especially outside Japan. Rinse it, taste a thin slice, and blanch it briefly if the packet smell is sharp. What you cannot fix is old bitterness, so sourcing still comes first.
• •Use konbu and dried shiitake dashi here. This is not a compromise for a meatless table; it is the temple stock that belongs to the dish. Powder would flatten the bamboo, and the bamboo is the point.
• •The wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta) is the old tool, but parchment does the work well. The purpose is even seasoning without stirring, because the prettiest cut in the world cannot help a yuba knot torn to rags.
• •Keep the kuzu glaze light. You should see the bamboo and lotus through it, not under it. Nothing hidden.

Advance Preparation

• •The konbu and dried shiitake can soak overnight in the refrigerator. The dashi will be rounder, and the shiitake caps will soften more evenly.
• •Fresh bamboo shoot is best parboiled the day before and cooled in its cooking liquid. Once peeled, keep it covered in fresh water in the refrigerator and change the water daily; use within 2 to 3 days.
• •The simmered ingredients can be cooked up to 4 hours ahead. If holding longer than 2 hours, refrigerate them, then rewarm gently in the glaze and garnish only at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 300g)