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1
Heat the sesame oil in a large, wide pan over moderate heat. Add the gobo and carrot and toast, stirring, until the raw edge softens and the pan smells nutty. The vegetables should colour only very lightly at the edges.
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2
Add the sliced shiitake and konnyaku to the pan. Stir to combine with the oil-coated root vegetables and cook for one further minute, until the mushrooms begin to soften and yield their moisture.
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3
Add the fresh okara and pour in the dashi. Stir immediately and thoroughly to coat every part of the okara in the fat and distribute the vegetables evenly through the mass. The mixture will appear wet and porridge-like at this stage.
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4
This is where the dish lives or dies. Maintain moderate heat and stir continuously without pause, working the mixture against the base and sides of the pan. The goal is the steady, controlled evaporation of moisture: too low and the okara stews and becomes gluey; too high and it scorches before the interior dries. Continue until the mass is crumbly, light, and separate — no wet clumping, no dense cohesion — and a handful lifted on the spoon falls apart in distinct, dry-looking grains.
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5
Add the mirin and soy sauce incrementally, stirring each addition fully through the okara before adding more. Taste carefully after each addition — the okara absorbs seasoning aggressively and the threshold between balanced and over-salted is narrow. The finished seasoning should be present but restrained, the soy supporting rather than dominating the dashi-vegetable depth.
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6
Remove from heat. The finished unohana should be pale, crumbly, and light — its whiteness and delicate texture the visual parallel to the deutzia blossoms for which it is named. Serve at room temperature as a teishoku side dish alongside grilled fish or as part of a set meal.