gomoku mame (minus 1)

Last week, Kazumi came over to bring me an ice cream maker that she didn't want. She also brought over these dried daizu (soy beans) which her friend grew.

She told me that she usually makes gomoku mame with the daizu. So, I looked in my cookbooks and found a recipe for it. Gomoku stands for 5 ingredients--so there are supposed to be 5 different items besides the beans included in the recipe.

Gomoku Mame :adapted from Orange Page: "Obachan no aji" Serves 4
1 cup dry daizu (soy beans)
1/4 cup of hijiki (edible brown seaweed)
1 small piece of gobo (about 6 inches)
1/2 renkon (about 3 inches)
1 small carrot (about 6 inches)
1/2 piece of konnyaku (about 2 inches)
vinegar
5 tablespoons of sugar
5 tablespoons of shoyu (soy sauce)

I soaked 1 cup of beans the night before.

In the morning, I made a list and went to the market.

Picked up some gobo (burdock), renkon (lotus root). Since I had carrots, and hijiki (edible brown seaweed), I was all set. As I was walking back from the market, I realized that I had forgotten to buy konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly)....sigh...since I was already half way home and I decided to do without.

Clean your gobo with the back of your knife, it will scrape off all the dirt and part of the skin. Cut the gobo into 2 cm thick disks then cut into four pieces. Do this for 1/2 a stalk of gobo.

With the renkon, peel it then cut it into cubes about 2 cm thick.

Soak the renkon and gobo in water and 1 teaspoon of vinegar for 10 minutes.
After the 10 minutes, boil the gobo and renkon for 2 to 3 minutes...Drain.

Cut a carrot into 2 cm thick disks and then into four pieces. Do this for the whole carrot. Cut the konnyaku into 2 cm thick cubes.

Bring water to a boil then turn down to a simmer, be sure to cover the beans with enough water and simmer without the cover for an hour and a half to two hours. Be sure to religiously scrape off the scum that forms on the top. You may need to add water.

After the beans are soft, add the gobo, carrots and konnyaku and simmer without the cover for 14 to 15 minutes--religiously scraping the scum on the top.

Add the renkon and hijiki and simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes.

After the 5 to 6 minutes, check the renkon to see if it is soft with a fork. If it isn't, simmer a little longer. If it is soft, add sugar. Boil for another 10 minutes.

Add the shoyu and simmer for another 5 to 6 minutes.


This dish gets better and better in the following days.

NOTES: this dish is a bit labor intensive, but makes a nice side dish for your bento (boxed lunch) or a nice alternative to meat for a main dish.