[My Family Recipe 28] Kiriboshi Daikon Gomoku-ni (Simmered Dried Daikon Radish with Five Ingredients)

For me, this is the quintessential "make-ahead side dish." Perhaps because my father didn't like it, it didn't appear on our dinner table very often when I was growing up.
I love it, so I simmer soybeans, hijiki, and dried daikon radish together to make a nutritious staple dish.
If you drain the liquid well, it's also perfect for bento boxes.

How to make Kiriboshi Daikon Gomoku-ni

• 30g dried daikon radish

• 1 piece thick fried tofu (or thin fried tofu)

• 1 can steamed soybeans (dry pack)

• 1 bag hijiki (dry pack)

• 1/2 carrot

• 3 shiitake mushrooms

• 1 tbsp sesame oil

• 1.5 cups dashi stock

• 1.5 tbsp sugar

• 1.5 tbsp soy sauce

• 1.5 tbsp sake

1. Quickly rinse the dried daikon radish and soak it in water for about 10 minutes to rehydrate. Squeeze out the water and cut into 4-5 cm lengths.

2. Cut the carrot, shiitake mushrooms, and thick fried tofu into thin strips about 5 cm long.

3. Heat the oil in a pot and stir-fry the ingredients from step 1 for 1-2 minutes. Add the ingredients from step 2 and mix lightly.

4. Add the dashi and seasonings. Once it boils, turn the heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer while stirring occasionally until only a little liquid remains at the bottom. Let it sit to allow the flavors to soak in.

Any ingredients will do. If you don't have deep-fried tofu, tuna works, and mushrooms other than shiitake are also a good match. Of course, a simple simmered kiriboshi daikon without beans or hijiki is also delicious.
If you remember the ratio of sugar:soy sauce:sake as 1:1:1, it makes seasoning simmered dishes easy and consistent. I like things on the sweeter side, so I tend to add a little extra sugar.

It's packed with nutrition and I want them to eat plenty, but actually, it seems my children don't like it very much. My husband and I diligently keep eating it. I wonder if it will become a taste of home for them someday.
But come to think of it, my father-in-law, who grew up in a rural coastal town, says that simmered hijiki was on the table so often when he was a child that he can't even stand to look at it now.
Maybe I should make it only occasionally so that doesn't happen.

Usako doesn't have many recipes for "authentic Japanese" dishes, so this is one I want to cherish. I want to make simmered dishes that the kids will love!

Wishing you a healthy day today as well.