Temple Simmered Vegetables (お煮しめ, Onishime)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide shallow pot
• •Wooden drop-lid (otoshibuta), or a circle of parchment
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Small paring knife for rounding satoimo and cutting carrot shapes
• •Chopsticks or small tongs for plating

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the dashi

   Wipe the konbu lightly with a damp cloth if it is sandy, but don't scrub it. The pale bloom on the surface is flavor. Put the konbu, dried shiitake, and cold water in a pot, cover, and soak in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight. Set the pot over low heat and bring it up slowly. When the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, lift out the konbu before it boils. Boiled konbu gives bitterness and a slick body, and this dish wants a clean broth. Simmer the shiitake 5 minutes more, then strain the liquid through cloth. Trim the stems from the shiitake caps and keep the caps for the pot.

   Use 3 cups of the strained dashi for simmering. If you have less, add a little water. The stock should taste quiet and deep, not salty.
2. 2

   Clean the satoimo

   Peel the satoimo and round off the sharp corners with a small knife. Rub the pieces with the coarse salt until the surface turns slick, then rinse. Boil them in fresh water for 4 minutes, drain, and rinse gently again. This takes away the surface starch that would cloud the final broth, and the rounded edges help the taro keep its shape.

   If raw satoimo bothers your skin, wear gloves. Once cooked through, it becomes tender and creamy.
3. 3

   Twist the konnyaku

   Cut the konnyaku into 1/2-inch slices. Make a short slit in the center of each slice and pull one end through the slit to make tazuna konnyaku, the rein-shaped twist used for festive simmered dishes. Boil the pieces for 2 minutes and drain. The boil removes the alkaline smell and roughens the surface just enough for the seasoning to enter.

   The twist is not decoration only. It gives the konnyaku more surface, and konnyaku needs help because it doesn't drink broth as eagerly as a root vegetable.
4. 4

   Cut the vegetables

   Peel the lotus root and cut it into 1/2-inch rounds or half-moons. Soak it for 5 minutes in water with the rice vinegar, then drain. The vinegar water keeps it pale and rinses away excess starch while preserving its crisp bite. Peel the carrot and cut it into 1/2-inch rounds, or into plum shapes if you want the holiday look. Pour hot water over the ganmodoki and drain well. That rinse removes surface oil, which would otherwise float on the broth and dull its clarity.

5. 5

   Start the simmer

   In a wide pot, combine 3 cups of the dashi, the usukuchi shōyu, koikuchi shōyu, mirin, and sugar. Bring it to a gentle simmer and taste. It should be a little stronger than you want at the table, because the vegetables will soften it as they cook. Add the satoimo, lotus root, carrot, konnyaku, and shiitake caps in separate clusters, ideally in one layer. Set an otoshibuta over the surface and simmer quietly for 20 minutes.

   The drop-lid keeps the shallow broth circulating over the food without stirring. No otoshibuta? Cut a circle of parchment with a small hole in the center.
6. 6

   Add the ganmodoki

   Tuck the ganmodoki into the pot, replace the drop-lid, and simmer 10 to 12 minutes more, until the satoimo is tender when pierced and the ganmodoki feels heavier with broth. Add a splash of dashi or water if the pot becomes nearly dry. Ganmodoki goes in late because it only needs to drink and warm through; cook it too long and it begins to break down.

7. 7

   Rest the pot

   Turn off the heat and leave everything in the broth for at least 30 minutes. Better still, cool it completely and refrigerate it overnight. This waiting is not idle time. As the pot cools, seasoning moves inward. If you try to force that by boiling harder, the edges break before the centers taste seasoned.

   Onishime is often better the next day. Make-ahead cooking isn't a compromise here; it is part of the method.
8. 8

   Plate with ma

   Blanch the kinusaya in salted boiling water for 30 seconds, then cool under running water and cut on the diagonal. Serve the onishime at room temperature or gently warmed. Lift each piece with chopsticks or small tongs and arrange in a shallow bowl with a little height: taro, lotus root, carrot, konnyaku, shiitake, ganmodoki, and the green kinusaya set last. Spoon over only a little broth. Leave at least a third of the bowl empty. That empty space, ma, lets the careful work be seen.

Chef Tips

• •Choose vegetables by condition, not romance. Satoimo should feel firm and heavy, lotus root should look pale and clean at the cut ends, and dried shiitake should smell deep and clear. If the lotus root is tired, use good frozen renkon rather than hiding a poor one in sauce.
• •Keep this dashi on konbu and dried shiitake. For a temple table, that is honmono. Powder would give you salt and flatness, and the stock is the dish's backbone.
• •Use a wide pot. Onishime suffers in a deep crowded pot because the pieces knock together and the cook starts stirring. Give the vegetables space and the broth can do its work.
• •The otoshibuta is the quiet helper here. A wooden one is traditional, but parchment works because it solves the same problem: it keeps the seasoning moving while your hands stay still.
• •If ganmodoki is hard to find, use thick fried tofu, atsuage, and be plain about it. The simmer will still be good, but ganmodoki has its own tender pockets and roundness.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the konbu and dried shiitake the night before. Cold soaking gives a clearer, rounder shōjin dashi than rushing them in hot water.
• •The finished onishime keeps well for 3 days refrigerated in its broth. Bring it back to room temperature before serving, or warm it gently without boiling.
• •Blanch the kinusaya on the day you serve. The green should stay bright, so it belongs at the end, not in the simmering pot.
• •If making this for a holiday table, cook it one day ahead and plate it shortly before serving. The flavor will be deeper and the pieces will be calmer to handle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)