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Tororo gohan
Mountain yam over barley rice
Tororo gohan (とろろご飯): grated mountain yam thinned with dashi and poured over barley rice
Tororo gohan is the speciality of Mariko-juku in Shizuoka, a post town on the old Tokaido road where travellers have stopped for bowls of it for four centuries, and it is now a simple, nourishing lunch all over Japan. Raw nagaimo (Chinese yam) is grated into a frothy, slippery purée, thinned with cool seasoned dashi and poured over hot barley rice, then topped with spring onion and nori. It sounds strange and tastes clean and comforting. This version uses vegetarian kombu dashi. A portion is about 330 kcal. Many people add a raw egg yolk: use a pasteurised egg if you do, especially for anyone pregnant, very young, older or with a weakened immune system. The common mistake is letting the dashi go in hot, which cooks the yam and loses its fluffiness; it must be cool. Chef's tip: grate the yam on the fine side of a grater, or the rough side of a suribachi bowl, and wear gloves; the raw sap can make skin itch.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 2
Ingredients
- 14 oz cooked Japanese rice with barley (mugi gohan)freshly cooked or reheated until steaming
- 7 oz nagaimo (Chinese mountain yam)peeled with gloves
- ½ cup kombu dashi5 g kombu heated gently in 150 ml water for 5 minutes, then cooled over ice
- 2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp white miso (optional)
- 1 spring onionfinely sliced
- ½ norisheet, cut into thin strips
- 2 pasteurised egg yolks (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Grate 7 oz nagaimo (Chinese mountain yam) finely into a bowl. Wear gloves, or wash your hands with vinegar afterwards if they itch.
5 minStep 2: Mix ½ cup kombu dashi with 2 tsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp white miso until the miso dissolves. The dashi must be cool, not hot.
Step 3: Whisk the dashi into the grated yam a little at a time with chopsticks, beating for 2–3 minutes until light, frothy and pourable, like thick yogurt.
3 minStep 4: Put the hot 14 oz cooked Japanese rice with barley (mugi gohan) into bowls and pour the tororo over the top.
Step 5: Top with 1 spring onion, ½ nori and a pasteurised 2 pasteurised egg yolks if using, and eat at once, mixing as you go.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 66 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does tororo gohan take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 5 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 2 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of light soy sauce?
- Tamari, same amount (gluten free).
- What can I use instead of spring onion?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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