For New Year's Seven Treasure Stew (Chikuzen-ni)
- 1 thigh Chicken thigh
- 5 Taro Root
- 1 Carrot
- 1/2 Burdock root
- 150 grams Lotus root
- 1 dash Boiled bamboo shoot
- 6 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (or fresh Shiitake mushrooms)
- 1 packages Snow peas
- 6 pieces Konnyaku
- 1 dash Vinegar, to get rid of the bitterness
- 1 dash Vegetable oil (or sesame oil)
- 4 tbsp Sugar
- 2 tbsp Sake
- 1 tbsp Japanese dashi powder
- 1 Water
- 4 tbsp Soy sauce
- 1 dash Salt
- 2 tbsp Mirin
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water to reconstitute.
- Make slight decorative cuts in the tops, but leave the mushrooms whole so they look like pine cones.
- Set aside the soaking liquid for later use.
- Cut the chicken thigh into bite-sized pieces and sprinkle lightly with sake and salt.
- Cut the taro root into pieces with 6 or 8 sides, if possible.
- Cut the boiled bamboo shoot into bite-sized pieces.
- Cut the carrot into 1 cm rounds and use a flower-shaped cutter to form flowers.
- Make a diagonal slit in each flower with a knife, and twist to make it look like a plum blossom.
- Cut the konnyaku into 5 mm slices and cut a slit in the center of each slice.
- Feed one end through the slit to make a twisted knot.
- Peel the lotus root and soak in water with vinegar.
- Cut "v" shapes between the holes and round off the corners to make a flower shape.
- Cut into 1 cm slices.
- Cut the burdock root in 5 mm slices diagonally and soak in water with vinegar.
- The burdock root represents bamboo.
- Remove the strings from the snow peas and blanch in salted water.
- Drain, then plunge in ice water to stop the cooking and to keep the bright green color.
- Cut the snow peas in half.
- Parboil the taro, konnyaku, lotus root, and burdock root.
- Drain in a colander.
- Heat oil in a pot and stir-fry the chicken with the burdock root.
- When the chicken is cooked through, take them out of the pot.
- Add the other vegetables and quickly stir-fry.
- Put all of the ingredients, except the lotus root, back in the pot, add the sugar, sake, dashi powder, soaking liquid from the shiitake mushrooms, and water.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, skim off the scum, and continue cooking for a short time.
- Add the lotus root, soy sauce and salt; cover with a drop-lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the mirin and cook over high heat until it's shiny.
- Transfer to a serving dish, and it's ready.
thigh, carrot, burdock root, lotus root, bamboo shoot, shiitake mushrooms, snow peas, vinegar, vegetable oil, sugar, sake, water, soy sauce, salt, mirin
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/154407-for-new-years-seven-treasure-stew-chikuzen-ni (may not work)