Nimono (literally “simmered food”) has a long tradition as a family favorite in Japan. It is typically made with root crops or fish as the main ingredient.

Dashi soup stock, soy sauce, saké and sugar all combine to provide a straightforward, natural taste. With chikuzenni, chicken and vegetables are stir-fried before they are boiled. The dish hails from the northern part of Fukuoka Prefecture on the southern isle of Kyushu, but over the years it has become a national family favorite. This traditional family meal is often served over the New Year’s holidays.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Chicken thighs ......................................  3

Carrot .................................................  1

Burdock ..............................................  ½ (10-15 inches)

Lotus root ...........................................  1 (6 inches)

Taro (satoimo potatoes) ........................  8

Dried shiitake mushrooms ......................   5

Konnyaku ...........................................  1 cake

Soup

Dashi soup stock ..................................  1 ¼ cup (300ml)

Soup from dried mushrooms ...................  1 ¼ cup (300ml)

Saké ...................................................  6 tbs

Soy sauce ...........................................  3 tbs

Sugar .................................................  3 tbs

Directions

1 Place the dried mushrooms in 1 1/2 cup of water for more than about half an hour until they soften. Chop off the stem and cut in half. The remaining liquid will be used in the soup.

2 Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle with saké.

3 After peeling the taro, rub with salt to remove slime, then wash with water.

4 Peel the carrot and slice into 1-inch chunks.

5 Peel the lotus root and slice into chunks less than 1 inch.

6 Peel the burdock and cut into bite-sized pieces.

7 Slice the konnyaku into ½ inch pieces.

8 Cook the chicken in a frying pan just enough to give it some color, then place it in a large saucepan.

9 Sautee the vegetables in the same pan that you used with the chicken. When they are coated with oil, place

them in the saucepan together with the chicken.

10 Add the soup and cook under a strong fire until it comes to a boil.

11 Cook under medium heat, scooping out the film that forms on the soup.

12 Take a sheet of aluminum foil and put a hole in the center. Use it as a lid and let the stew simmer for 20-25

minutes. Stir occasionally, making sure not to let the stew spill out.

13 When the volume of the soup has been reduced by about half, turn the heat back up. Add sesame oil for

fragrance and serve.

Tips

Be creative and add a touch of whimsy when slicing vegetables. They look great and enhance the overall presentation of the meal. Creative slicing not only looks good, but also exposes a larger area to cooking juices, which improves spice saturation. Here are a few simple slicing techniques you can try at home.

Carrot Plums Remove the edges from round sliced carrots. Make five triangular incisions around the edges to create a flower pattern. From one of the edges between the “petals,” slice toward the center, then from that center, slice the surface of the petal in a slanted fashion toward the end of that petal.
Konnyakyu Rope Cut Make an incision in the center of a sliced konnyaku. Then loop one end of the konnyaku through the incision to create a rope-like pattern.
Taro Hexagonal Cut Slice off the top and bottom of a taro. Shave off the skin from top to bottom in sweeping motions to create six angles.
Gobo Rangiri Cut Place a knife at a low angle and roll gobo while cutting. This cutting maximizes the flavor-intaking surface area.