January 27, 2014

Okonomiyaki with Yamato Imo in It/大和芋入りのお好み焼き

Late last year, my father sent us this yamato imo together with other foodstuffs.
去年末、父からこの大和芋(やまといも、ヤマトイモ)や他の食材をもらいました。
My father said he got some yamato imo from an acquaintance. Yamato imo is a type of yama imo (lit. "mountain potato", yam). I've never seen yamato imo of such a strange shape.
Images of yamato imo
知り合いから大和芋をもらったそうです。大和芋は山芋の一種です。こんな奇妙な形のヤマトイモを見るのは初めてです。
 
We used it to make tororo soba first, and then mugi toro.
まずはとろろそばに、次に麦とろに使いました。

And, as part of supper last night, I used the rest of the yamato imo to make okonomiyaki.
そして、昨日の夕飯に、残りのヤマトイモを使ってお好み焼きを作りました。
 
About 500 g.
約500 gです。

I don't like to peel the yamato imo because the skin is not thick and the part just below the skin is the most delicious part, but I peeled most of the skin because it was very soily, even after I scrubbed it with a tawashi.
大和芋の皮は薄く、また皮のすぐ下の部分が最も美味しい部分なので、皮を剥くのは嫌いなのですが、束子(たわし)でこすっても泥がついているので、皮は大部分剥きました。 
I added 600 g cabbage, and checked the texture. Then, I decided to add:
100 g flour
1 tbsp baking powder
200 ml milk
1 pack of sakura ebi (dried small shrimp)
キャベツを600 g入れ、柔らかさをチェックしました。 そして、次のものを入れることにしました:
小麦粉100 g
ベーキングパウダー 大さじ1
牛乳 200 ml
桜えび 1パック
I made four okonomiyaki in total, using two 18-cm diameter frying pan.
直径18 cmのフライパンを2つ使って、お好み焼きを全部で4枚作りました。 
My trick for flipping over using a plate worked fine, even though the dough is very soft because of the addition of yamato imo.
大和芋を入れたため、生地はとても柔らかいですが、私の、お皿を使ってひっくり返す技はうまく行きました。  
 
We also had leftover tonjiru (pork soup) and some other leftovers.
残りの豚汁や他の残り物も食べました。 
I also boiled some natsumikan peels. They are now in the fridge. I will simmer them with sugar later.
夏みかんの皮も茹でました。冷蔵庫にしまってあります。後で砂糖で煮ます。  
I almost forgot to upload this photo:
この写真をアップするのを忘れてました:
As always, my okonomiyaki is moyo-less.
いつも通り、私のお好み焼きは、マヨ抜きです。

13 comments:

  1. Among the images of tororo soba, there was one of Totoro soba, which I liked :) We made tororo soba once, using a recipe from my cookbook in German. It was tasty, but it didn't look very appetizing.
    The more I use that cookbook, the more I get the impression that it is intended merely as an overview over Japanese foodstuffs and dishes, and that many of the recipes it provides are oversimplified.

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  2. Sadly I have never seen mountain yams around here. Okonomyaki is a wonderful dish, I don't know anyone who does not like it after having it for the first time.

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  3. Katrin: Now that we are in the age of the Internet, we don't necessarily stick to just one cookbook, right? When I try a new dish for the first time, I usually find and compare three or more (up to 5 to 7 or so) recipes and create a recipe of my own.

    Kiki: Maybe you could find yama imo powder or something.

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  4. Hiroyuki: Your method applied to Japanese cuisine works best when you have a sufficient knowledge of the Japanese language. We have once searched the net for a recipe for vegetarian kare raisu, and the best we found was (strangely enough) in a well-known German cooking forum - chefkoch.de.

    Kiki: I know someone who didn't like it - my daughter (we had okonomiyaki with noodles in Hiroshima). I think it was because she wasn't able to identify all the things that were in it.

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  5. What a funny shape indeed! I have never heard of yamatoimo! I have a question: what else do you do with dried shrimp? I only use it in okonomiyaki, but still have at least ten packages from Japan... (Have I mentioned I brought a whole suitcase of food?).
    I got really addicted to yamaimo in okonomiyaki... (One gest easily used to "luxury" ;-) ). The texture is worse without fresh grated yamaimo, so now I cut them into individual portions and freeze for the months when I cannot get it. I am really lucky because I can buy organic yamaimo imported from French overseas territories! (I once bought yamaimo imported from China and it made my skin red! I suppose it was packed with horrible chemicals because the French yamaimo never gives me such a reaction).
    It's a funny coincidence: I have bought a yamaimo this afternoon too! One cabbage too (there will be okonomiyaki soon ;-) ).
    Eeryone likes okonomiyaki, but people usually hate (I mean Europeans) katsuobushi... so I never serve it on top only aside so that everyone can taste and decide. My Japanese friend once made here an okonomiyaki party for her colleagues and they were polite, but she saw they didn't like it. Of course she had put a mountain of dried bonito on every plate and I think it was the reason ;-) (Personally I am addicted to katsuobushi on okonomiyaki ... I have still at least 5 huge packages at home because I'm afraid I might run out of it (here katsuobushi is very expensive and somehow tasteless... I love the pinkish ones I bought in Japan).
    Kiki, we should make an appointment one day in Freiburg... I will bring you several huge yamaimos (those I buy weigh at least 1 kg!).

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  6. The yamato imo in Hiroyuki's picture looked to me more like a piece of art than something to eat :)
    What is the exact difference between yamato imo and yama (or naga) imo?

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  7. Sissi: Dried shrimp, sakura ebi 桜えび to be more exact, is a common ingredient of kakiage (a type of tempura containing slices of vegetable, seafood, and so on). Sakura ebi is also good in tamago yaki, as topping for pasta, and in soup. You can also make your own furikake with sakura ebi and other ingredients.

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  8. Katrin: I'm no export on yam, and I had to do some googling to get a right answer.

    The correct generic term for yam is yamanoimo (ヤマノイモ), not yamaimo. (But, most Japanese think that yamaimo is the generic term, including me.)

    Naga imo (lit. long yam) 長芋, ながいも is the most popular type of yamanoimo. It's cheap, a kind of watery, and less slimy.

    Jinenjo (wild yam) 自然薯, じねんじょ is the most expensive (long, good ones can cost 5,000 yen or more) and the slimiest.

    Yamato imo is also called tsukune imo つくねいも is globular, and slimy.

    Ichou imo (lit. gingko yam), 銀杏芋、いちょういも is shaped like a gkingko leaf, and is slimier than naga imo but less slimier than yamato imo.

    Reference:
    http://www.yasainavi.com/zukan/yamanoimo.htm

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  9. Thank you for the advice! I will try them with tamagoyaki first. Furikake sounds like a great idea too!

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  10. This looked very tasty! I just made okinomiyaki recently, using nagaimo. I still have some nagaimo left and I wasn't sure what I could do with it.

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  11. Hiroyuki: Thank you for googling for me and for the detailed explanation!

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  12. muskratbyte: You made okonomiyaki from scratch, using nagaimo!? That sounds wonderful! I usually simply use store-bought, pre-made okonomiyaki mix.

    Katrin: There is more to talk about yamanoimo.
    In Kanto (Eastern Japan), ichou imo is sold by the name of yamato imo.
    I previously posted photos of yamato imo here:
    http://hiro-shio.blogspot.jp/2012/12/tororo-meshi.html

    I posted photos of cultured jinenjo here:
    http://hiro-shio.blogspot.jp/2008/06/mugi-toro-gohan-rice-cooked-with-barley.html
    (Cultured jinenjo (wild jam) sounds stupid, but it does exist!)

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  13. Muskratbyte: nagaimo freezes very well! I don't see the difference when defrosted and grated into okonomiyaki. I cut it into portions (the size I use for one okonomiyaki), peel it and freeze it. It think it's even slightly easier to grate when partly frozen...

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