By: Ella Oriye Tani, SFU Student 

This dish is simple, hearty, and great for the cold winter months. The recipe isn’t exactly a “real” recipe, but a Japanese-inspired dish. It was passed down the telephone line between my grandmother on my father’s side, who is a terrific Japanese cook, and my mother, who comes from a lineage of authentic Chinese Canadian chefs. This meal packs a punch full of sweetness and umami while also giving you a dose of healthy fibre. The main ingredients are: taro root, a grey starchy vegetable with a mild creamy flavour; daikon, a large white tubular radish; and lotus root, a rhizome derived from the lotus flower. All three of these vegetables are native to Asia and would likely need to be bought at speciality Asian stores. To make this dish feel like a full meal, I would recommend pouring it over a bed of rice. If you like it spicy, try dipping the vegetables in sriracha hot sauce for a nice kick.

Ingredients:

Braised roots:

4 small taro roots 

1 medium daikon

1 medium lotus

1 cup sugar

1 cup soy sauce

Enough water to boil the roots (roughly 8 cups)

Teriyaki sauce:

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup sugar (brown sugar is preferred)

¼ cup water

2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp cold water to make a slurry

Instructions: 

Braised roots: 

1. Peel the skin off the taro, daikon, and lotus, then cut them into thick chunks.
2. Place the cut taro, daikon, and lotus in a pot filled with water to boil in. Add the 1 cup sugar and 1 cup soy sauce.
3. Turn the stove on to high heat and boil the taro, daikon, and lotus. The roots will be done when the lotus is soft enough to easily stab a fork through it, around 45 minutes. The chunks should be a bit brown by now from soaking up the soy sauce and water mixture.
4. Drain the soy sauce water mixture from the pot, then place the vegetables in a new pan or bowl.

Teriyaki sauce: 

1. Add the ¼ cup soy sauce, ¼ cup sugar, and ¼ cup water to a separate pan (not with the vegetables) and let boil.
2. Make the cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tsp cornstarch with 1 tsp cold water in a separate bowl.
3. When the soy sauce and sugar boil, slowly add the slurry into the pot while whisking vigorously, making sure no cornstarch lumps occur.
4. Taste test the teriyaki sauce to make sure the sauce is more sweet than salty.
5. Pour the teriyaki sauce onto the vegetables, and you’re done!