Simmered Dried Daikon (切り干し大根の煮物, Kiriboshi Daikon no Nimono)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow pot
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment with a small center hole
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the daikon

   Put the kiriboshi daikon in a bowl, cover it with water, swish it well, and drain. This first wash removes dust from drying and storage, not flavor. Cover the daikon with 2 cups cool water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes, until the strips bend easily but still have a little spring. Squeeze them gently, reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, and cut the daikon into shorter lengths if the strands are long.

   Taste and smell the soaking liquid. If it is sweet and clean, use it. If it is musty or harsh, discard it and use more dashi instead. A poor ingredient should not be forced into the pot.
2. 2

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in 2 cups cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat, about 10 minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides of the pot. Bring the water just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for 2 minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine-mesh strainer and let it drip without pressing. Measure out 1 1/2 cups dashi for the simmering pot.

   Boiling konbu makes the stock faintly bitter and slick. Squeezing the bonito flakes presses out stronger, oily flavors. The rule is only the shortest way to say protect the clarity.
3. 3

   Prepare the abura-age

   Pour boiling water over the abura-age, then pat it dry and cut it into thin strips. You are not washing away its usefulness. You are removing the tired surface oil so the fried tofu can take in the dashi cleanly. Cut the carrot into matchsticks and blanch the snow peas if you are using them.

4. 4

   Coat the strips

   Set a wide pot over medium heat and add the oil. Add the squeezed daikon, carrot, and abura-age, and toss for 2 minutes, until the daikon smells sweet and the strands gleam lightly. Do not brown them. This little coating gives the finished dish shine and helps the dried strips take seasoning evenly without turning heavy.

5. 5

   Simmer gently

   Add 1 1/2 cups dashi, the reserved 1/2 cup soaking liquid, sake, mirin, and sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer, set a wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta) directly on the food, and cook for 6 minutes. Add the shōyu, set the drop-lid back in place, and simmer 12 to 15 minutes more, until the daikon is tender and only a few spoonfuls of liquid remain.

   Sweetness goes in before soy because dried vegetables need time to drink it in. Soy added later gives salt and color without making the outside taste finished while the center stays plain.
6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Take the pot off the heat, fold in the slivered snow peas if using, and let the daikon rest in the pot for at least 20 minutes. This is when nimono settles. The strips finish drinking the broth as they cool, becoming glossy and seasoned through. Serve warm, cool, or at room temperature, in a small mound with room left around it.

Chef Tips

• •Buy kiriboshi daikon that is pale cream to light gold, dry but still a little flexible, and smells sweet, like clean straw and daikon. Deep brown or musty means age, not depth; no broth will make that honest.
• •Use the soaking water only if it tastes clean. Strain and use a little for sweetness, or discard it and use all dashi if the smell is tired. Sourcing first, always.
• •A wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta) is the old tool, but a parchment circle with a coin-sized hole does the same job: it keeps the strips under the broth without stirring them into a tangle.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake. That is the shōjin way, honmono in its own line, though the broth will be darker and rounder than katsuobushi dashi.
• •This is better the next day. Serve it cool or at room temperature in a small mound, not heaped like laundry. Leave it room.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the dish up to 4 days ahead. Cool it in its remaining cooking liquid, refrigerate covered, and serve cool, at room temperature, or gently warmed.
• •Dashi can be made 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Warm it gently before using if the chilled stock has gelled slightly.
• •The kiriboshi daikon can be rinsed and soaked 1 day ahead. Keep the squeezed daikon and reserved soaking liquid in separate covered containers, and smell the liquid again before using it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 140g)