Taro Konjac Stew

 

I got the recipe from a local cook book, but it's actually a common dish in Japan. The flavor is typical of Japan with sake, soy sauce, mirin, dashi and sugar all blended together. Taro absorbs the flavor in the broth more thoroughly than konjac, therefore (I guess) the recipe calls for more taro than konjac. To me, it is a discovery of new way to cook taro.

Ingredients:

• Taro (satoimo): 10 pieces (500g)
• Konjac balls: 1 bag (about 200g)
• Broth Mixture:
• Water: 2 cups
• Sake: 2 tablespoons
• Soy sauce: 2 tablespoons
• Mirin: 2 tablespoons
• White dashi: 1 tablespoon
• Sugar: 1 tablespoon
• Bonito flakes: 1 pack (4-5g)

Instruction:

Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients: Peel the taro and cut it into rough, evenly sized pieces Sprinkle with some salt, massage the taro, and then rinse it thoroughly under cold water to remove the sliminess. If necessary, place the konjac balls in a colander and pour boiling water over them to remove any bitterness. Drain well.

Step 2: Cook the Stew: In a pot, mix all the ingredients from the broth mixture. Add the taro and konjac balls to the pot. Heat on low to medium heat and cover with a lid (best is to use a drop lid). Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the taro is soft. If desired, remove the lid and reduce the broth slightly for a more pronounced flavor.

Step 3: Serving: Serve warm. If the stew cools down before serving, reheat gently to enhance the flavor. The stew pairs well with steamed rice or as a side dish in a traditional Japanese meal.

Taro is no strange to me, but konjac balls are quite interesting. Konjac is sold in supermarkets in different shapes, but this is the first time I cook it in ball shape. It is called tamakonjac in Japanese, and it is a speciality of Yamagata prefecture in Japan.

Beautiful quotation from Japanese delicious food:

"Ball-shaped konjac", nicknamed Tamakon, is the soul food of the people of Yamagata Prefecture. As the name suggests, it is a spherical konjac about 3 cm in diameter. It is usually sold at festivals, sightseeing spots, cherry blossom viewing events, etc., and is often eaten as a fast food. Although it is eaten all year round, "the warm ball-shaped konjac" during the colder months tastes better. It is most popular to cook it without water, using only soy sauce. It is also often eaten with a English mustard paste.

Indeed, konjac cooked in the above recipe will not be the right way, since it has quite a lot of water and liquid and not much flavor will soak into the konjac. It's better to have konjac in a fair amount of soy sauce, like this recipe, to have a really tasty konjac in the mouth. Finally, you can eat konjac with mustard. Enjoy it like a Japanese!