Kanako's Kitchen

Just looking at them on a plate, you could easily mistake taro for potatoes, but one taste will be enough to clear up any confusion. Sweet, soft and unctuous in a way a potato could only dream to be, this ancient root has earned a place in most Asian and even African cuisines, and Japan is no exception.

These days we’re eating Taro at home really often, partly because my husband loves it, but also because the autumn is the peak of taro season. There are a number of ways of cooking taro. “Taro nimono” is the path of least resistance: just boiling them with a bit of sauce, (what we call “imo no nikkorogashi” in Japanese).

Don’t let its simplicity fool you, though: Taro nimono is really delicious. In fact, I think this is one of the most popular comfort foods in Japan, and a classic of mom-style cooking.

Ingredients (for four):

• Taro roots – 7 to 8
• Dashi – one teaspoon
• Sake – two tablespoon
• Mirin – two tablespoon
• Sugar – two tablespoon
• Soy sauce – two tablespoon

Preaparation:

1. Peel the taro roots, cut in halves or thirds
2. Put cut taro pieces on a strainer, sprinkle with two tablespoons of salt, massage the salt into the taro to get rid of the excess starch
3. Rinse the taro well

click to enlarge

Cooking:

1. Put the taro in the pan and cover with water, bring to a boil.
2. Add Dashi.
3. Add Sake, sugar, soy sauce and cover with two layers of kitchen paper towels, making a little dome over the taro to seal the moisture in. Cook for about 20 minutes at medium heat.
4. Take off the kitchen paper towels and boil again at high heat to evaporate the sauce and caramelize the taro.

Click to enlarge

Serve hot as a side dish.