Chikuzen Ni | Umami Insider

Ingredients:
- 1 Boneless Chicken Thigh
- 1 tsp Sake
- 1 tsp Mirin
- 1 tsp Soy Sauce
- 8 Taro
- 1 Lotus Root
- ½ Burdock Root
- 1 Carrot, 1 inch thick
- 6 Shiitake Mushrooms
- 1 Konnyaku
- 4-5 Snow Peas
- Vegetable Oil

Seasoning:
- 3 cup Dashi Stock
- 2 Tbsp Sake
- 2 Tbsp Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Mirin
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- A pinch of Salt

Instructions:
1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, and mix together with 1 teaspoon of sake, mirin, and soy sauce.
2. Peel and cut the taro so it has six edges, and quickly boil. Wash away the slime and drain.
3. Slice the lotus roots into ¼ inches thick. Cut around the edges to make round-shape so each lotus root looks like a flower. Fill a small bowl with water and add a few drops of vinegar. Soak the roots.
4. Wet the burdock root with running water. Rub with aluminum foil to remove the skin. Slice diagonally. Leave them in a bowl of water. When the water is brown, change the water to clean.
5. Slice the carrot into ¼ inch thick. Make flowers using a cutter.
6. Wash and remove the stem of the shiitake mushrooms. Cut mushrooms in half if they’re too big.
7. Cut the konnyaku into ¼ inch thick. Make a cut in the middle, and loop the edges through to make ribbon/net shape. Quickly boil so it doesn’t unravel easily.
8. Pour vegetable oil in a pot and cook the chicken over medium heat. Remove the chicken once done.
9. In the same pot, pour a bit more vegetable oil in the pot, and lightly cook taro, lotus roots, burdock roots, carrots, mushrooms, and konnyaku altogether, about 2 minutes.
10. Add dashi stock, sake, and sugar into the pot. Place a drop lid and cook over medium heat until vegetables are soft.
11. In the meantime, prepare the snow peas. Remove the string, and quickly boil with a bit of salt. Remove from the heat and add them to cold water so the green color remains bright. Cut in half to make an arrow and a diamond shape.
12. Once vegetables in the pot are soft, remove the drop lid and add soy sauce, mirin, and salt. Place chicken on top and place the drop lid again. Cook over low heat until soup is almost gone. Stir occasionally.
13. Place chikuzennni in an osechi box and decorate with snow peas.