Imoni (芋煮)
Overview
Imoni is a taro soup from the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, best known in Yamagata Prefecture. Peeled satoimo, small taro roots, are simmered until soft and creamy, with thinly sliced beef, torn konnyaku and thick Japanese leeks called negi. The broth is seasoned with soy sauce, sake and a little sugar, and sometimes mushrooms are added. In neighbouring Miyagi Prefecture it is made with pork and miso instead of beef and soy sauce. It is hearty and slightly sweet, a typical dish of the autumn harvest.
History
In autumn, people in Yamagata hold imonikai, gatherings where friends, families and workmates cook imoni in big pots on the riverbanks, a custom said to go back to boatmen on the Mogami River in the Edo period. Since 1989 Yamagata City has held the Japan's Biggest Imoni Festival, where the soup is cooked in a pot about six metres wide and stirred with a construction digger.
Main ingredients
Taro, beef, konnyaku, negi, soy sauce, sake. The soup is built on soy and dashi broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Beef soups · More soups from Japan
Recipe
Method
- 1
Rub the taro with salt and rinse to remove the slippery coating.
- 215 min
Cook the taro and konnyaku in the water for 15 minutes, until the taro is nearly soft.
- 3
Add the sake, sugar and soy sauce, then the beef, and skim well.
- 4
Add the mushrooms and negi and simmer for 5 more minutes.
- 5
Serve hot in bowls.
- ✓
Serve. About 1 h from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
