Japanese Sweet-Simmered Vegetables with Steamed Rice

I’ve been cooking a lot of Japanese food lately, inspired by our recent trip to Mitsuwa marketplace. I love shopping there because I always discover something new and it allows me to expand my culinary repertoire. Plus, it’s home to one of the tastiest ramen bars in Chicago.

Groceries from Our Recent Trip to Mitsuwa Marketplace

Last week, I created this refreshing sashimi salad featuring fresh ingredients from the sea. This week, I focused on a very different style of Japanese cooking, what I consider Japanese comfort food. Japanese sweet-simmered vegetables is a hearty, filling dish and the delicious sweet-and-salty broth is perfect during the cold winter months. When paired with steamed rice, you have a perfectly satisfying meal.

A Note on the Ingredients

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms:  Shiitake mushrooms that have been dehydrated. They need to be rehydrated before cooking. Shiitake mushrooms have large caps and long, thin stems. The stems are typically not consumed as they’re tough. Shiitake mushrooms have a slightly sweet, earthy taste.

How to Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms: Place mushrooms in a bowl of water. Weight them down with a plate (I used a glass pie plate) to keep them submerged. Let them soak for 40-to-60 minutes, then flip the mushrooms over and soak for an additional 40-to-60 minutes.

Dry Shiitake Mushrooms Rehydrating in Bowl of Water

Clockwise Top Right: Burdock Root, Devil’s Tongue Jelly, and Lotus Root

Devil’s Tongue Jelly (Konnyaku): Is a gelatinous mixture made from the devil’s tongue plant. It’s often sold in rectangular blocks. It’s gray with black flecks.  It’s prized in Japan for having very few calories, almost none; the majority of devil’s tongue jelly is made up of water. However, the texture makes you feel full. Devil’s tongue jelly has virtually no taste on its own, but will absorb whatever flavors it is cooked in.

Canned Bamboo Shoots

A Close Up of the Canned Bamboo Shoots, Quartered

Bamboo Shoots: Are made from the new shoots of bamboo. They are tender and have a delicate flavor. The easily absorb the flavors they are cooked in. They have a great texture due to their ribbed interior.

Clockwise from top left: Lotus Root, Burdock Root, Carrots, Bamboo shoots, and Devil’s Tongue Jelly

Lotus Root: is the root of a lotus plant. The exterior is tannish brown. When the skin is removed, the vegetable is pale white. There are holes throughout the length of the interior of the lotus root. These holes give the vegetable a pretty pattern when sliced. The vegetable is crunchy and fibrous. The taste is very similar to a water chestnut.

Carrots

Chopped Burdock Root

Burdock Root (Gobo): is a root vegetable that is long and slender with brown skin. It can grow up to 3 feet in length. It can be used to make tea, stir fried, or boiled. It has a bitter taste when raw. A lot of the flavor is in the skin, so don’t discard it; just make sure to scrub before using, as it can be quite dirty.

Sugar

Mirin: is a sweet cooking wine commonly used in Japanese cuisine.

Dried Bonito Flakes

Dried Kelp (kombu)

Dashi: a stock made from bonito flakes (made from dried, smoked Slipjack tuna) and dried kombu. It is an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine and is the base for many soups, simmered dishes, and ramen.  If you’ve ever had Miso soup, you’ve had dashi.

How to make Kombu-Bonito Dashi:

Ingredients:

• 5 inch kombu
• 2 cups shaved bonito flakes
• 6 cups water

1. Wipe kombu with a damp towel (do not remove the flavorful white powder; only remove the sand).
2. In a Dutch oven, add the water and the kombu. Raise heat to high. When tiny bubbles form remove the kombu. You want to remove the kombu just before it reaches a boil, otherwise it will release an odor.

   Bonito Flakes Steeping in Kombu Water

3. When boiling, add bonito flakes. Remove from heat and let the bonito flakes sink, steep for 2 minutes.

   Draining the Dashi Using a Fine Mesh Cheesecloth

4. Strain the stock through a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve. Gently press liquid through. Do not squeeze the cheesecloth as the dashi will become cloudy if you do.

Soy Sauce or Reduced-Sodium Soy Sauce

Snow Peas (optional)

You can buy these ingredients in Asian grocery stores, and some of them can be found in your local grocery store in the ethnic food aisle. The vegetables will be sold in the refrigerated section; all the other ingredients will be located with dried goods.

The Vegetables Simmering in a Sweet-Dashi Broth

This Japanese sweet-simmered vegetable dish is sweet, hearty, and packed full of nutrients. It’s a great introductory dish to Asian vegetables and Japanese cooking techniques. It’s worth making the trip to an Asian grocery store or Japanese market!

Japanese Sweet-Simmered Vegetables with Steamed Rice

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Kombu-Bonito Dashi

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Serves	yields 6 cups
Region	Japanese
From book	Slightly Adapted from Authentic Japanese Cuisine for Beginners

Kombu-bonito dashi is a stock made from bonito flakes (made from dried, smoked Slipjack tuna) and dried kelp (kombu). It is an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine and is the base for many soups, simmered dishes, and ramen. If you ever had Miso soup, you’ve had dashi.

Ingredients

• 5 inch kombu
• 2 cups shaved bonito flakes
• 6 cups water

Note

You can buy the ingredients to make dashi in Asian grocery stores. The ingredients will be located in the dried goods section.

Directions

Step 1

Wipe kombu with a damp towel (do not remove the flavorful white powder; only remove the sand).

Step 2

In a Dutch oven, add the water and the kombu. Raise heat to high. When tiny bubbles form, remove the kombu. You want to remove the kombu just before it reaches a boil, otherwise it will release an odor.

Step 3

When boiling, add bonito flakes. Remove from heat and let the bonito flakes sink; steep for 2 minutes.

Step 4

Strain the stock through a cheesecloth or fine mesh sieve. Gently press liquid through. Do not squeeze the cheesecloth, as the dashi will become cloudy if you do.

Japanese Sweet-Simmered Vegetables

Print recipe

• Print with all photos
• Print with main photo
• Print text only

Serves	5
Meal type	Main Dish, Soup
Misc	Serve Hot
Region	Japanese
From book	Adapted from Authentic Japanese Cuisine for Beginners

Japanese sweet-simmered vegetables is a hearty, filling dish and the delicious sweet-and-salty broth is perfect during the cold winter months. When paired with steamed rice, you have a perfectly satisfying meal.

Ingredients

• 1 devil's tongue jelly (konnyaku) (cut into 10 squares)
• 1 carrot (chopped)
• 1 burdock root (cut into two inch pieces, skin on)
• 10 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 can bamboo shoots (quartered)
• 1 piece lotus root (peeled and sliced into 1/3 inch half circles)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup mirin
• 5 cups dashi
• 1/2 cup soy sauce (or reduced sodium soy sauce)

Optional

• 15 snow peas, steamed (for garnish)

Note

* You can buy these ingredients in Asian grocery stores, and some of them can be found in your local grocery store in the ethnic food aisle. The vegetables will be sold in the refrigerated section; all the other ingredients will be located with dried goods.

* The shiitake mushrooms need to rehydrated. Please note that this takes 80 to 120 minutes.

Directions

Rehydrating the dried shiitake mushrooms

Step 1

Place mushrooms in a bowl of water. Weight them down with a plate (I used a glass pie plate) to keep them submerged. Let them soak for 40- to-60 minutes, then flip them over and soak for an additional 40-to-60 minutes. Drain. Remove the shiitake stems and set aside.

Step 2

Place the devil's tongue jelly into a Dutch oven and cover with cold water. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, cook for 5 minutes. Rinse in cold water.

Step 3

In a large Dutch oven, add the burdock root first; followed by the devil's tongue jelly, shiitake mushrooms, carrot, lotus root, and bamboo shoots last. This order is important as the heavy pieces are placed on the bottom; the flavor enhancers are in the middle, and the delicate ingredients are on the top.

Step 4

Add the sugar and mirin (the sugar softens the ingredients; the mirin prevents the vegetables from disintegrating), then dashi to cover. Bring to a boil. Skim off any foam that forms on the surface. Cover loosely with a lid or with wet rice paper. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Step 5

Add the soy sauce and simmer 10-15 minutes more.

Step 6

Dish into individual bowls and garnish with the snow peas, if using. Serve with steamed rice for a full meal.