Simmered Taro (里芋の煮物, Satoimo no Nimono)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow pot
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a parchment circle cut to fit the pot
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Food-safe gloves, optional for sensitive hands

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, about ten minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides. Bring the water to a gentle boil, add 15g katsuobushi all at once, turn off the heat, and leave it alone for two minutes. Strain through a cloth and let it drip on its own. Don't squeeze. Measure out 2 cups dashi, adding a little water only if you are short.

   Boiling konbu roughens the stock, and squeezing bonito presses strong, oily flavors into it. Satoimo is mild, so a cloudy stock will show.
2. 2

   Peel the satoimo

   Scrub the satoimo, dry them well, then trim the top and bottom of each corm. Peel down the sides with a small knife or peeler, following the curve and keeping small ones whole. Halve any large pieces so they cook at the same pace. Dry skin is easier to hold, and it keeps the raw sap from making the job feel more dramatic than it is. If your hands are sensitive, wear food-safe gloves.

3. 3

   Salt and blanch

   Put the peeled satoimo in a bowl, sprinkle with the salt, and rub them gently until the surface feels slick. Transfer them to a pot, cover with cold water, and boil for four to five minutes, just until gray foam rises and the outside turns slightly translucent. Drain and rinse gently under running water. This removes the excess surface starch and keeps the broth clean, but don't scrub them bare. A little silk belongs to satoimo.

   The blanch is the detail that decides the dish. Skip it and the simmering broth turns muddy and sticky before the seasoning can settle in cleanly.
4. 4

   Begin the simmer

   Arrange the satoimo in a wide pot in one layer if you can. Add the 2 cups dashi, sake, sugar, and mirin. The liquid should come about halfway to two-thirds up the pieces; the drop-lid will do the rest. Bring to a quiet simmer, set an otoshibuta, a wooden drop-lid, directly on the surface, and cook for ten minutes. Sugar and mirin go in before the soy because sweetness moves into the center more easily before salt tightens the surface.

5. 5

   Add the shōyu

   Pour the shōyu around the edge of the pot, replace the drop-lid, and simmer gently for twelve to fifteen minutes more. A chopstick should slide through the center without resistance. Keep the bubbles small. A hard boil knocks the pieces together, clouds the broth, and roughens the edges. Don't stir; tilt the pot now and then if you need to move the seasoning.

   Cook satoimo all the way through. Undercooked taro can feel scratchy in the mouth, and no amount of good dashi will make that pleasant.
6. 6

   Rest in broth

   Turn off the heat and let the satoimo rest in the broth for at least twenty minutes. Nimono seasons as it cools: heat pushes, cooling draws in. This pause is why the same pot tastes better after sitting quietly than it does straight from the flame.

7. 7

   Finish Tosa style

   Remove the drop-lid. If there is more than about 1/2 cup broth left, simmer uncovered for a few minutes until the liquid looks glossy and lightly coats the pieces. Scatter the remaining 5g katsuobushi over the satoimo and shake the pot gently so the flakes cling. They drink the last seasoned broth and bring the Tosa finish without hiding the vegetable. Serve in a shallow bowl, with a thin strip of yuzu peel if you have it.

Chef Tips

• •Buy small, firm satoimo in autumn and winter, when they are at shun. The skins should feel slightly damp with earth, not cracked, sour-smelling, or soft at the ends. Good satoimo already tastes creamy before you have done much to it.
• •Dry the corms before peeling. Wet satoimo skids around the board, and then people blame the vegetable for being difficult. It is only unfamiliar.
• •Use a wooden drop-lid, otoshibuta, if you have one. A circle of parchment with a small hole in the center does the same useful work: it keeps the tops basted without stirring, so the pieces stay whole.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake and omit the Tosa finish. That follows the temple-kitchen path, honmono in its own right, though it is no longer Tosa style.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. For a gentler stock, soak the konbu in the cold water overnight before heating it.
• •The simmered satoimo improves after several hours in its broth and keeps for two days refrigerated. Rewarm gently and add the finishing katsuobushi just before serving, while its aroma is still alive.
• •Peel satoimo the day you cook it. Raw peeled taro discolors and dries; if you must work ahead, keep it in cold water for only a few hours, then drain well before the salt rub.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)