Mottenohoka and Yamagata Imoni: One Soup, Five Dishes
I have never eaten Imoni in Yamagata, and I have no relatives or friends from Yamagata Prefecture. I have seen Imoni boiling in giant pots stirred with massive cranes on TV news many times.
"I want to eat Imoni" was my husband's request, and the first time I made it was over 15 years ago. It was the soy sauce-flavored Imoni made with beef, which is apparently eaten in the inland areas of Yamagata and it turned out quite well. Since then, it has become a staple dish in our home from autumn to early winter, when taro becomes delicious.
One soup and five dishes
Also around that time, I started making Sendai Imoni after a doctor who graduated from Tohoku University taught me the ingredients, and it has become another dish in our home during the cold season.
This one is a miso-flavored Imoni with plenty of ingredients and pork.
Both are hard to choose between.
I season it with soy sauce and miso
When taro is in season, it's time for a lunch of one soup and five dishes with Imoni.
Something I want to use precisely because it is this time of year is Mottenohoka.
Mottenohoka
is so beautiful that it makes me want to arrange it.
At Chikeiken in Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture, I was served a vinegared dish of edible chrysanthemum and couldn't help but ask when they said, "
"It is Mottenohoka is what they said.
I was surprised and asked, "Huh?
Mottenohoka (unthinkable/outrageous)? Why do you call it that?""Because
the chrysanthemum is the crest of the Imperial family, so to eat that chrysanthemum is unthinkable," they explained.
I thought the land of Yamagata was modest, simple, and yet resilient.
For beef Imoni, I use cold-brewed kombu dashi. I am convinced that beef goes well with kombu, so this is my only choice.
leave it in the refrigerator overnight to extract the dashi.
It has an elegant flavor even if you drink it as is.
Since the small red chrysanthemums whose name I don't know bloom faithfully every November, I arrange them with coral beads. This is also a flower-playing activity limited to November.
When I arrange flowers in tableware like this,
I put a small empty bottle inside the vessel
and arrange them in that.
I made the Imoni in the morning, so I just need to quickly make the five dishes.
[Menu]
Beef Imoni
Germinated brown rice
Mottenohoka vinegared dish mixed with grated Beni-Kururi radish
Omelet with salted koji
Dressed garland chrysanthemum and baby greens
Beni-Kururi radish bran pickles
gives me the joy of deciding how to combine them.
then placed in cold water, drained in a colander,
and squeezed dry.
Served with grated Beni-Kururi radish and garland chrysanthemum.
Since the main dish is soy-sauce-based Imoni,
I eat it with extra virgin olive oil, salt, and black pepper.
[Imoni Ingredients]
Beef offcuts—Since the beef is also a star ingredient, use plenty.
Satoimo (taro root)—Cut into large pieces or use small taro roots whole.
(Preparation: Peel the taro, rub with plenty of coarse salt to remove sliminess. Do not pre-boil.)
Konjac—Cut into thin rectangles and pre-boil.
Long green onion—Sauté in beef fat and add just before finishing.
Maitake and mountain enoki mushrooms
Seasonings
Cold-brewed kombu dashi, water, pure rice sake, soy sauce, salt, and hon-mirin.
I feel a sense of self-satisfaction at having created such a well-balanced menu, hehe.
making for a clean, deeply flavorful Imoni.
Of course,seconds, please!
And the most important thing is,the best seasoning is time!d that!
It tastes several times better after letting it sit than when freshly made!Once it has cooled, transfer the portion for the next day to a pot or storage container that fits in the refrigerator,
and store it in the refrigerator.Even in winter, refrigeration is the rule.
After letting it sit for a day, I have a one-soup, five-dish meal with Imoni taught to me by a doctor who graduated from Tohoku University.
Motte-no-hokawas quickly boiled and frozen, then made intosunomono (vinegared dish),and I served thefive disheson a large plate for aone-plate lunch.
The tableware is by an artisan.
[Menu]
Pork and miso-based Imoni—Use pork offcuts that have been quickly pre-boiled; strain the boiling liquid through a paper filter before using.
Purple barley and germinated pressed barley rice
Motte-no-hoka sunomono
Omelet with green laver and salted malt
Homemade doubanjiang and salted malt stir-fry with squid, onion, and Japanese pepper
Garland chrysanthemum side dish
Pickled Ayame-yuki turnips and radishes
I didn't even add salt; I just shaped them into straw bales.
I add a little soy sauce to simmer it, then add miso at the end to finish the flavor.
【Imoni Ingredients】
Pork offcuts—add a generous amount
Taro—prep by rubbing with salt then rinsing with water; do not pre-boil
Konjac—cut into small rectangles and pre-boil
Burdock root—cut into small diagonal slices
Carrot—cut into half-moons
Daikon radish—cut into quarter-rounds
Deep-fried tofu—cut into strips
Long green onion—cut diagonally
Seasonings
Water + dashi pack (Seikatsu Club product—dried sardines, bonito flakes, kelp, shiitake mushrooms)
Pure rice sake, soy sauce (a small amount), salt, miso (100% koji miso)
Rather than eating it right after cooking, Imoni left for half a day is, as expected, delicious!
home cooking is just great.
The koji siblings I prepared in late summer have aged nicely.
Since last year, I've been using a hand blender to turn salt koji, soy sauce koji, and chili koji (sansho-zuke) into a paste form.
It's smooth and easy to use for meal prep.
With warm soups and hot pots, I'll stay cozy through the coming winter.
I hope to stay cold-free.