[Unit Project 2]:How to cook Yamagata's local dish

Introduction

Do you all know the local dish of Yamagata Imoni? It is a soup with taro as the main vegetable.

It is said that Imoni originated in the mid-1600s. At that time, goods were transported by boat on the Mogami River. Boatmen sometimes had to wait for days until the recipients arrived. There was a village near the landing place where taro was a specialty. It is said that the origin of Imoni is that the taro and the codfish were boiled in a pot, and then enjoyed together on the riverbank to relieve the boredom of the day.

I love Imoni. My grandmother's Imoni contains two kinds of konnyaku. I always eat a lot of konnyaku because I like konnyaku. That is why my grandmother puts a lot of konnyaku in the Imoni. Whenever my grandmother is asked what you want to eat when I come back to my parents' house, I always answer, Imoni. When I eat imoni, I feel that I have come back to Yamagata.

Required Tools

• The pot that can hold 4L of water
• The pot that can hold 1500g of taro
• One ladle
• Three bowls
• One bowl for draining water
• One kitchen knife
• One cutting board
• One measuring cup
• One pair of long chopstick
• Five pairs of eating chopsticks
• Five eating bowls

 

Required Materials

This recipe yields 5 servings.

• 4L water
• 800ml water for Konnyaku
• 1L water for taro
• Five radish about 15~20 cm in length
• Five green onion
• One pack of shimeji mushrooms
• Two Konnyaku
• One pack of Konnyaku noodles
• Two packs of tofu
• 1500g taro
• 1500g beef
• 230ml soy sauce
• 230ml cooking sake
• 50ml bnito soup stock
• 60ml salt for taro

 

How to Make

1. First,  tear the konnyaku into bite-size pieces and cut the konnyaku noodles 3~4 cm pieces, and boil these over medium heat for 3~4 minutes, after boiling, put them in the bowl of water.
2. Second, cut radish in ''Half moon cut'' and put into the bowl.
3. Third, wash taro,remove the sprouts, cut off both ends, and cut into 4~5cm pieces, put it into a pot with water and cook over high heat. At this point, turn off the heat, being careful not spill over.

4. Fourth, drain the boiled taro in a colander and put into a pot. Sprinkle salt on the taro in the pot and rinse 3~4 times to take away the sliminess.

   

5. Fifth, cut taro, radish and konnyaku into a pot with 4 liters of water and bring to a boil.

6. Sixth, slice the green onions diagonally and place green part down in a bowl.
   

   

7. Seventh, remove the bottom of shimeji mushroom, and take apart, cut tofu into bite-sized pieces and put into it the bowl.
8. When the water comes to a boil, add the beef and remove the scum when the beef is cooked through. 
   

9. Ninth, mix in cooking sake, soy sauce, bnito soup stock, thawed shimeji mushrooms, and cut tofu.

10. Tenth, about 10 minutes before serving, add green onion ssimmer over medium heat for 2~3 minutes.
11. Finally,turn off the heat and serve eating bowl.

Conclusion

Imoni is seasoned differently in Yamagata  between the inland regions and the regions on the Sea of Japan coast. Inland regions use soy sauce flavoring, while the Sea of Japan region uses miso flavoring. Beef is used in the inland regions, while pork is used on the Sea of Japan coast. In Yamagata, a Imonikai is held on a riverside in autumn. Imonikai is also held at schools and other places, and are the main event of autumn. At a riverside in Yamagata City, an event called "Japan's No.1 Imonikai Festival" is held using a large pot with a diameter of 6.5 meters. We hope you will all try Imoni!