Chikuzen-ni Fukuoka Simmered New Year Vegetables

Ingredients

• 400 g chicken thigh, bone-in, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 150 g lotus root (renkon), peeled, rangiri cut
• 150 g carrot, peeled, rangiri cut
• 150 g gobo (burdock root), scrubbed, rangiri cut
• 150 g satoimo (taro), peeled, cut into irregular pieces
• 150 g konnyaku (konjac), torn or cut into irregular pieces, briefly blanched
• 6 dried shiitake, rehydrated in 250 ml cold water; soaking liquid reserved
• 60 g snow peas, strings removed; added at final reheat only
• For the simmering liquid
• 500 ml dashi, kombu-bonito or dashi powder dissolved in water
• 250 ml shiitake soaking liquid, strained through a fine sieve to remove grit
• 60 ml mirin
• 60 ml soy sauce
• 2 tbsp sesame oil

Method

1. 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.
2. 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. 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. 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. 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.