Simmered Chicken and Root Vegetables

【 Materials 】 for two

chicken leg meat

150 g

lotus root

150 g

4 burdocks

1

Carrots

1/2

taro

2

Shiitake mushrooms

3

Konjac

50 g

Silken peas

as needed

Salad oil

as needed

“Vinegar”

5 tablespoons

mirin

2 teaspoons

water

200 ml

soy sauce

2 teaspoons

How to cook

1. Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces, peel and cut carrots and taro into pieces.
   Wash lotus root and burdock root in cold water, peel them as desired, cut them into pieces, and soak them in vinegar water (not included).
2. Wipe shiitake mushrooms with a cloth to remove any dirt, remove any stones, and cut into bite-size pieces.
   Tear Konjac into bite-size pieces with a spoon.
3. Remove the strands from the peas and quickly blanch them in salted water.
4. Lightly oil a pan with salad oil and fry the chicken thighs from step 1, then add the vegetables from step 1, shiitake mushrooms and konnyaku from step 2.
5. When all the oil is coated, add vinegar, mirin, and water and bring to a boil over high heat.
   After removing any harshness, cover with a lid and simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes.
6. When the ingredients are cooked, add soy sauce and simmer over low heat for another 15 minutes.
   Taste and adjust the thickness of the sauce to your liking before turning off the heat.
7. Remove from heat, place in a serving bowl, and garnish with 3.

Cooking Tips

• Each ingredient used in chikuzen-ni has its own auspicious meaning.
• Because of its many holes, lotus root is often used for New Year’s and festive occasions with the wish for good prospects for the future.
• Because burdocks take root deep in the ground, the wish is that the family and its business will be firmly rooted in the land and continue for generations to come.
• The taro is associated with a wish for the prosperity of offspring because of the large number of small potatoes it produces.