PProvenance
Enter
P
Japanese · Fukuoka

Chikuzen-ni Fukuoka Simmered New Year Vegetables

Chikuzen-ni (筑前煮 — named for the historical Chikuzen Province, now Fukuoka Prefecture) is a quintessentially Japanese simmered dish of root vegetables, konnyaku, and chicken — one of the most beloved home preparations in Japan, particularly associated with New Year celebrations (osechi ryori) where it appears as a regular component. The dish is also known as nishime (simmered things) in contexts outside Fukuoka. The defining technique: all ingredients are cut in irregular shapes (rangiri — rolling diagonal cuts), stir-fried briefly in sesame oil until the surfaces seal (the same technique as kenchinjiru), then simmered in dashi-mirin-soy with a drop lid (otoshibuta) until the vegetables absorb the seasoning. The specific ingredient combination in chikuzen-ni: chicken thigh pieces (bone-in or boneless), lotus root (renkon), carrot, gobo (burdock root), satoimo (taro), konnyaku (konjac), dried shiitake (rehydrated, the soaking liquid used as additional dashi), and snow peas as a final garnish. The dish improves dramatically overnight — the flavour penetration from resting in the cooled broth creates a more complex, rounded taste than immediately served preparations.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
ServesFour portions
Sourced3of 13 in BC
Cook
‹ Previous · Chikuwa Tube Fish Cake Grilling|Next · Chikuzenni — Hakata Style Simmered Vegetables ›
I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

400 g
chicken thigh
bone-in, cut into bite-sized pieces
Your own market
150 g
lotus root (renkon)
peeled, rangiri cut
Origin · JapanT Amano Trading · Vancouver →
150 g
carrot
peeled, rangiri cut
Your own market
150 g
gobo (burdock root)
scrubbed, rangiri cut
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
satoimo (taro)
peeled, cut into irregular pieces
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
konnyaku (konjac)
torn or cut into irregular pieces, briefly blanched
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
6
dried shiitake
rehydrated in 250 ml cold water; soaking liquid reserved
Origin · ChinaWismettac · Vancouver →
60 g
snow peas
strings removed; added at final reheat only
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
For the simmering liquid
500 ml
dashi
kombu-bonito or dashi powder dissolved in water
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
250 ml
shiitake soaking liquid
strained through a fine sieve to remove grit
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
mirin
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
60 ml
2 tbsp
sesame oil
Your own market

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Rehydrate the dried shiitake in 250 ml cold water for at least 30 minutes. Squeeze the caps gently and cut each in half or quarters; strain the soaking liquid through a fine sieve and set aside. Prepare all vegetables in rangiri: position the knife at a diagonal to the ingredient, roll it a quarter-turn between each cut to produce irregular, multi-faced pieces with maximum surface area. Blanch the konnyaku pieces in unsalted boiling water for 2 minutes; drain. The pieces are ready when all surfaces feel rough to the touch from the blanch.
From the canon — Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) holds a unique dual identity in Japanese cooking — it is both a premium fresh ingredient with specific flavour and textur… Shiitake — Fresh and Dried Applications →
2
Heat the sesame oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry, turning frequently, until the surfaces are sealed and lightly coloured. Add the gobo, lotus root, carrot, satoimo, konnyaku, and shiitake in succession, stir-frying each briefly so every cut surface contacts the hot oil. This is where the dish lives or dies: the Maillard browning developed at this stage is the flavour foundation — pale, unbrowned surfaces at this point cannot be corrected by longer simmering. Continue until all ingredients show faint colour and the sesame oil fragrance is pronounced.
3
Pour in the dashi and the reserved shiitake soaking liquid. Add the mirin and soy sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer, skimming any foam that rises. Set an otoshibuta (drop lid) — a disc of foil or parchment cut to fit just inside the pot — directly on the surface of the ingredients. Simmer over low heat until the vegetables are just tender and the liquid has reduced to a concentrated, lightly coating broth. Test with a skewer: it should pass through the thickest piece of lotus root with moderate resistance, not freely.
4
Remove from heat and allow the pot to cool to room temperature in the cooking liquid. Transfer to a container and refrigerate overnight. The broth, as it cools, continues to penetrate every piece; the flavour equilibrates across all components. The preparation is not complete until this rest is taken.
5
To serve, return the pot to low heat and warm gently — do not boil vigorously, which would break down the vegetables. In the final minutes, add the snow peas to the pot and heat only until they turn bright, vivid green and are just tender-crisp. Serve with the concentrated braising liquid spooned over. The snow peas must be added at this stage only; cooked ahead, they lose their colour.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Bone-in chicken thigh from a free-range bird; hand-pulled kombu-katsuobushi dashi; fresh gobo and satoimo from a specialist Japanese grocer; natural-brew soy sauce aged a minimum of one year; hon-mirin.
02
Estate — Bone-in chicken thigh, commercial grade; dashi made from good-quality dried kombu and katsuobushi; dried shiitake of identifiable Japanese origin; standard supermarket mirin.
03
Market — Boneless chicken thigh; dashi powder (hondashi) dissolved in water — no significant quality difference for home use; shiitake soaking liquid still essential and must not be discarded.
04
House — Any available root vegetables, with boneless chicken and dashi powder; the overnight rest and the stir-fry stage remain obligatory regardless of ingredient grade.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Smell. A pronounced, nutty sesame-oil aroma and visible faint colour on every cut surface signals the stir-fry stage is complete.
◇Sight. The simmering liquid has reduced from thin to a lightly coating, amber-coloured broth concentrated around the ingredients.
◇Touch. A skewer passes through the thickest piece of lotus root with moderate resistance — yielding but not collapsing.
◇Sight. Snow peas have turned a vivid, uniform green and are just tender-crisp — the signal to serve immediately.
◇Where it lives or dies. The initial stir-fry in sesame oil must develop true Maillard colour on every surface before dashi is added — no subsequent technique can recover the flavour lost from pale, unbrowned ingredients.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Aramasa No. 6 X-type Junmai Ginjo
Aramasa Shuzo · Yamagata
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Sake
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

T Amano Trading
Vancouver · lotus root (renkon)
→
Wismettac
Vancouver · dried shiitake
→
Purely Artisan Foods
San Diego · soy sauce
→
← PreviousChikuwa Tube Fish Cake GrillingOne standard · no exceptions