Tag Archives: Sato Imo

美食, Dessert, 里芋, 野菜, 農業, Gastronomes, Gastronomy, Imo, Japan, Japanese Gastronomy, Recipes, Sato Imo, Shizuoka, Shizuoka agricultural products, Shizuoka Cuisine, Taro root, Vegan, Vegan Dessert, Vegetarian cuisine

Vegan Japanese Imo Dessert: Satoimo Dango No Mitarashi An/Taro Root Balls in Sweet Sauce

August 8, 2012 dragonlife 2 Comments

Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan is celebrated for its many varieties of Imo/芋/Taro roots from sato Imo/里芋 to
Ebi Imo/海老芋!
It is only natural that we can come up with some succulent desserts to please any priority!

Satoimo Dango No Mitarashi An/Taro Root Balls in Sweet Sauce

INGREDIENTS: For about 15 balls

Sato Imo/里芋/Taro roots: 300 g (frozen: you can get them all year. In season choose them fresh and cook them!)
Rice powder: 60 g
White sugar: 2 tablespoons

For the sweet sauce/Mitarashi An
Soy sauce: 3 tablespoons
Sugar: 4 tablespoons
Water: 4 tablespoons
Cornstarch: as appropriate dissolved in lukewarm water
Ground black sesame seeds: 1 teaspoon

RECIPE:

Thaw the frozen sato imo. Put them inside an oven dish, cover with cellophane paper and cook in microwave oven for 5~6 minutes until they get soft.
For fresh sato imo, boil them first and peel them off (you can also team them)
Mash them finely.

Add one third of rice powder to mashed sato imo and mix well, kneading all the time. Cover with cellophane paper and cook inside microwave oven for 2 minutes and a half. Repeat process twice more.

Make sure that all rice powder has been used. Add sugar and mix well. Cover again with cellophane paper and cook inside microwave oven for 3 more minutes.
Let cool down completely.

Prepare some sweet water with 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Make balls with mashed sato imo, wetting your palms with the sweet water beforeahnd.

In a frypan with only a little oil fry balls on both sides util they attain a light brown color. Let cool down completely.

In a saucepan pour the soy sauce, water and sugar. heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
Add cornstarch dissolevd in lukewarm water and stir until the sauce has become a thick syrup. Take off fire. Add ground black sesame seeds and mix.
Let cool down completely.

Serve the dango/balls topped wipped with sweet sauce.

The kids will love them!

RECOMMENDED RELATED WEBSITES

Tokyo Food File by Robbie Swinnerton, Green Tea Club by Satoshi Nihonyanagi in Shizuoka!, Mind Some by Tina in Taiwan, Le Manger by Camille Oger (French), The Indian Tourist, Masala Herb by Helene Dsouza in Goa, India, Mummy I Can Cook! by Shu Han in London, Pierre.Cuisine, Francescannotwrite, My White Kitchen, 47 Japanese Farms Through The Eyes of Its Rural Communities, Foodhoe, Chucks Eats, Things that Fizz & Stuff, Five Euro Food by Charles,Red Shallot Kitchen by Priscilla,With a Glass, Nami | Just One Cookbook, Peach Farm Studio, Clumsyfingers by Xethia, PepperBento,Adventures in Bento Making, American Bent, Beanbento, Bento No, Bento Wo Tsukurimashou, Cooking Cute, Eula, Hapabento , Happy Bento, Jacki’s Bento Blog, Kitchen Cow, Leggo My Obento, Le Petit Journal Bento & CO (French), Lunch In A Box,
Susan at Arkonlite, Vegan Lunch Box; Tokyo Tom Baker, Daily Food Porn/Osaka, Only Nature Food Porn, Happy Little Bento, The Herbed Kitchen, J-Mama’s Kitchen, Cook, Eat, Play, Repeat, Bento Lunch Blog (German), Adventures In Bento, Anna The Red’s Bento Factory, Cooking Cute, Timeless Gourmet, Bento Bug, Ideal Meal, Bentosaurus, Mr. Foodie (London/UK), Ohayo Bento,

Must-see tasting websites:

-Sake: Tokyo Through The Drinking Glass, Tokyo Foodcast, Urban Sake, Sake World
-Wine: Palate To Pen, Warren Bobrow, Cellar Tours, Ancient Fire Wines Blog
-Beer: Good Beer & Country Boys, Another Pint, Please!, Beering In Good Mind: All about Craft Beer in kanzai by Nevitt Reagan!
-Japanese Pottery to enjoy your favourite drinks: Yellin Yakimono Gallery

Vegan, vegetables, Vegetarian cuisine

Vegan Imo Burger

February 28, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

The basic problem for most vegans (and vegetarians) is to find or create food with a sufficien/satisfying “bite”.
Imo or sato imo/taro in this case do provide that satisfactory sensation and can be presented in an appetizing manner for big appetites!

One such simple recipe is Imo Burgers!

INGREDIENTS: for 2~ people

-Sato imo/taro: 7~10 medium-sized
-Cornstarch: 1 tablespoon
-Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
-Salt: about 1 teaspoon
-Black pepper: as appropriate

-Sweet and sour sauce:
-Water used for boiling the imo: 1 cup/200 cc
-Soy sauce: 2 tablespoons
-Cornstarch: 1 tablespoon
-Sugar: 1 tablespoon
-Fresh ginger juice: ~1 tablespoon

Fresh and tender mushrooms

RECIPE:

Peel and boil taro until you can pass a stick through easily.

Mash the boiled taro in a food processor.

This is how it should look. Don’t worry if somelittle pieces are left.

Transfer into a large bowl and add cornstarch, soy sauc, salt and black pepper.

Mix well with a spatula.

Moisten your hands and form burgers in your preferred shape.

Fry the burgers (on teflon so you don’t need any oil) until they reach a nice color.

Slice some mushrooms (any tender mushrooms are fine).

Add another kind of mushroom shred into strips or ribblens.

Mix the sweet and sour ingredients into a bowl.

Fry the mushrooms in a little oil until they get soft and add sweet and sour sauce and cook until the mushrooms are nice and soft.

Place the burger on a hot serving dish and pour sauce on op.
Enjoy!

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Sato Imo Sembei/Taro Crackers

January 15, 2011 dragonlife Leave a comment

Many people have pressing dietary priorities caused by allergies.
For example wheat flour is a big problem when you want to create bread, cakes or crackers.
Here is a simple suggestion to make crackers with sato imo/里芋/taro.
They should please vegans and vegetarians, too!
Very healthy and tasty!

INGREDIENTS: For 2~3 persons

-Sato imo/taro: 3~4, boiled, peeled and diced
-Soy Sauce: 1 large spoon
-Sugar: 1 large spoon
-Water: 1 large spoon
-Sesame oil: as appropriate

RECIPE:

1- Mash the boiled sato imo/taro. If too hard, soften them inside a microwave oven first.

2-Pour the mashed sato imo in a large bowl. Add soy sauce, sugar and water mix well. For extra taste you can use green tea or oolong tea instead of plain water.

3-Shape the paste into sembei (square, round, oval as you like). Brush sesame oil on both sides and grill them.
Try and press them all the time while they grill! They will taste better!

Easy, ain’t it?

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Japanese Cuisine: Stewed Sato Imo, Koyadofu & Chicken

July 15, 2010 dragonlife 8 Comments

Japanese cuisine makes for some very healthy food.
I have already introduce koyadofu, a variety of dried tofu, sato imo or taro.
Here is a simple and hearty recipe fir for any age group!

INGREDIENTS: For 3~4 people

-Chicken thigh meat: 1 thigh
-Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
-Japanese sake: 1 tablespoon (if unavailable use dry white wine)
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-Sato Imo/taro: 8 (medium-sized)
-Koyadofu: 3 standard sheets
-Flour: as appropriate
-Dashi: 2 cups/400 cc/ml (if unavailable use chicken soupstock)
-Soy sauce: 2.5 tablepoons
-japanese sake: 2.5 tablespoons
-Sugar: 2.5 tablespoons
-Shungiku: Spring chrysanthemum a little (if not available, use green of your choice!)

RECIPE:

-Cut the chickeninto small bite-sized chunks amd marinate with soy sauce and Japanese sake.

-Cut the hard part of the shungiku (or other green leaf vegetable such as soinach, and so on), boil lightly in salted water, drain and cut into 5 cm (2 inches) bits.

-Peel sato imo/taro as shown on above pic. Boil. Clean in clear water to get rid of the stickiness. Transfer into a zaru/sieve basket.

-Soften koyadofu in lukewarm water. Press out all water. Cut into 1.5 cm (0.7 inch) squares and coat with flour. Deep-fry in oil at 160 degrees Celsius. Scoop out as soon as they change color. Tansfer into a sieve basket and pour hot water on it to take out excess oil.

-In a pan, drop the dashi, soy sauce, sake and sugar. Bring slowly to boil and reduce fire to low. Add sato imo/taro and koyadofu. Simmer for a while on a low fire to allow all sato imo and koyadofu to absorb taste.

-In another pan bring some water to boil. Wipe chicken off any humidity. Coat with flour. Drop into boiling water and cook until tender.

-Once cooked, transfer into sieve basket/zaru.

-Once the sato imo and koyadofu are cooked to satisfaction, add chicken. Simmer for 2=3 minutes.

-Serve into dish with greens.

Great with beer!

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Health & Nutrition Facts in Japanese Food 10: Sato Imo/Taro/里芋

June 19, 2010 dragonlife 14 Comments

As demonstrated by many food bloggers, cooking and creating great foods and drinks have become incomplete and unsatisfying when not considering the benefits or adverse effects of the same foods and drinks regardless of their taste.
I do not intend to delve into counselling or consulting, but only to offer some knowledge about the good sides of Japanese foods and drinks. I will not extoll on its possible lacks and negative aspects. After all, the Japanese are not the longest-living people in the world for no reason!
I will also offr at least one nutritious or healthy recipe at the end of each posting.

Health & Nutrition Facts in Japanese Food 10: Sato Imo/Taro/里芋

Sato Imo, or Taro, orignally come from Malaysia and its Latin name is Colocasia esculenta.
Apart of water, they mainly contain starches, making a stamina food. Onced cooked, the same starches are very easy to digest by the human body. It is also a “health food” because of its high potassium contents (to combat high blood pressure and stress in particular).
Their high contents in vegetal fibers also make it a very important vegetable.

For each 100g (edible parts) it contains:
-Energy: 58 kcal
-Water: 84.1 g
-Proteins: 1,5 g
-Carbohydrates: 13.1 g
-Ash: 1.2 g
-Potassium: 640 mg
-Phosphorous: 55 mg
-Iron: 0.5 mg
-Copper: 0.15 mg
-Manganese: 0.19 mg
-Vitamin B1: 0.07 mg
-Vitamin B2: 0.02 mg
-Vitamin C: 6 mg
-Dietary (roughage) fibre: 2.3 g

HEALTH FACTS & TIPS:

-Combined with eggs, or with chicken, or with sardine, or with bonito, increases stamina and promotes general health.

-Combined with tofu, or with milk, helps promote general health and brain activity.

-Combined with enokitake mushrooms, or with devil’s tongue tuber/konnyaku, or with burdock root/gobo, helps lower down blood cholesterol, helps prevent high blood pressure and cancer.

-Combined with konbu/seaweed, or with miso paste, or with onion, or with green chili pepper, promotes general health and blood circulation.

RECIPE:

A simple recipe to promote health and help combat obesity:

Sato imo/taro: 10
Miso: 2 tablespoons
Mirin/Japanese sweet sake: 1 tablespoon
Sugar: 1 teaspoon
Japanese sake: 2 teaspoons

Wash the sato imo/taro well in clear cold running water. Cut off both extremities. Place in an oven dish. Cover with cellophane paper. Heat in microwave oven for 6 minutes. Check if they are cooked by stabbing them with a sharp and thin wooden stick.

In a small pan, drop miso, mirin, sugar and sake. Mix well. Heat over a small fire and stir at th same time until the sauce has become smooth.

Peel the taro while hot. Place on a dish and pour sauce on top!

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Vegan Japanese Cuisine: Taro & Tomato Stew

January 19, 2010 dragonlife Leave a comment

Benn rummaging through my notes and discovered another simple and hearty recipe for my vegan and vegetarian friends!

Taro & Tomato Stew!

INGREDIENTS: For 2 people

-Taro/Sato Imo: 4
-Carrot: 1
-Onion: 1
-Garlic: 1 clove
-Tomato: 100~200 g (canned with their water, or fresh, peeled and seeded)
-Cabbage: 3 leaves
-Miso: 2 tablespoons
-Water: １/２ cup/100 cc/ml
-Mirin/sweet sake: a little for taste and seasoning

RECIPE:

1-Peel taro and cut into big pieces. Cut carrot into large pieces. Cut onion into 4 quarters. Cut the garlic into thin slices. Cut the cabbage into rough pieces.

2-In a pan drop the taro, carrot, onion and garlic with the tomato and switch on fire. Bring to boil and then lower fire. Cover with lid and cook until vegetables are soft.

3-If you have a pressure cooker, pour everything into it, heat and cook on a low fire for 5 minutes.

4-Add cabbage, miso, mirin and water and cook for a while until cabbage has become soft. Rectify/season with a little salt if necessary although miso contains enough salt.

NOTES:

-Any miso can be used according to your preferences.
-I personally add some lemon juice.
-When servin in bowls, I top it with chopped thin leeks. Fresh coriander would be great, too.

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Taro & Macha Steamed Pound Cake

December 30, 2009 dragonlife Leave a comment

Still in my Taro/Sato Imo mood, aren’t I?
Today I would like to introduce a really simple pound cake recipe which includes taro and macha tea powder!

Taro & Macha Steamed Pound Cake!

INGREDIENTS:

-Taro/Sato imo: 200 g (peeled)
-Egg white: 1
-Sugar: 60 g
-Salt: 1/2 teaspoon
-Egg yolk: 1
-Flour: 2 teaspoons
-Water (as much as needed)
-Macha tea powder: 1/2 teaspoon
-Lime peel/zest: half a lime (finely chopped)

RECIPE:

1-Cut the taro into practical-sized pieces and boil.
Drain them thoroughly and mash into a smooth paste.

2-Beat into solid meringue the egg white, 2/3 of the sugar and the salt.

3-Add the rest (1/3) of the sugar to the mashed taro/sato imo, egg yolk and flour. Mix well. If the mixture proves a bit hard to mix, add water little by little until staifaction.

4-Add the meringue to the taro/satoimo and mix well.

5-Add the finely chopped lime zest and mix.
Pour one half into a pound cake mold lined with kitchen paper.
Add macha tea powder to the rest, mix and pour on top of the bottom layer.

6-Steam over a strong fire for 25 minutes.
Check if cooked properly by stabbing the cake with a thin wooden skewer. It should come out clean. Switch off fire and let cool down completely

Makes for a very light and healthy dessert!

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Vegan Japanese Cuisine: Taro & Bamboo Shoots in Sweet and Hot Miso

December 29, 2009 dragonlife 1 Comment

Not ready yet to give up on those simple and healthy recipes with taro, or sato imo/里芋 as they are called in Japan that should please my vegan and vegetarian friends (omnivore friends, just be a little more patient!)!

This one is called “Taro & Bamboo Shoots in Sweet and Hot Miso/里芋と竹の子の甘辛味噌煮”, or Sato Imo to Take no Ko no Amakara Miso Ni”
It is another very simple dish that should provide food with a filling sensation to vegans.

INGREDIENTS: For 2 people

-Taro/Sato imo: 3~4 middle-sized specimens
-Bamboo shoots: 1 cup (cut to size. Canned Bamboo Shoots are fine)
-Konnyaku/Devil’s Tongur Tuber: 2/3 cup (cut to size. Canned specimen are fine)
-Japanese sake: 1 tablespoon
-Mirin/Sweet sake: 1 tablespoon
-Konbu/seaweed dashi/Soup stock: enough to submerge all ingredients upon cooking
-Salt: a pinch
-Salad oil: 1 tablespoon
-Sweet Miso (red miso base): 1 tablespoon
-Yuzu koshio/Lime & Chili Pepper Paste: to taste

RECIPE:

-Peel taro/sato imo and cut into bite-sized pieces. Cut bamboo shoots in approximately size (if needed). Cut the konnyaku/devil’s tongue tuber in slightly smaller pieces.

-Boil the Taro/sato imo a little beforehand to soften them.

-In a pan drop the half cooked taro/stao imo, bamboo shoots and konnyaku. Pour dashi until dashi until it had submerged everything.
Switch on fire.

-Add sake, mirin and salt and bring to boil. Lower fire to low~medium and simmer/stew until soup/stock has disappeared.

-Once the soup has disappeared, a frying sound will be heard. At that moment add the oil and stir fry the lot.

-Once the oil has coated everything, add the miso and mix gently as the taro will be soft by then.

-Add the yuzu koshio/Lime and chili pepper mix just before serving.

NOTES:

-For variation you may use chopped lime skin/zest or/and hot chili powder

Easy once again!

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Vegan Japanese Cuisine: Taro & Soy Milk Gratin/Sato Imo & Tonyu Gratin

December 28, 2009 dragonlife 2 Comments

Still working on a whole bunch of simple and healthy recipes with taro, or sato imo/里芋 as they are called in Japan that should please my vegan and vegetarian friends!

This one is called “Taro & Soy Milk Gratin/里芋と豆乳グラタン”, or Sato Imo & Tonyu Gratin”
It is a very simple dish that should provide food with a filling sensation to vegans. Great for kids, too!

INGREDIENTS: for 1 plate/serving

-Taro/sato imo: 2
-Oil (of your choice): 3 tablespoons
-All-purpose Flour (of your choice):2 tablespoons
-Soy Milk: 1 cup/200 cc/ml
-Sweet white miso paste ( as you like)
-Tinned corn or freshly boiled corn (a you like)
-Panko/breadcrumbs (as you like)

RECIPE:

-Peel the taro/sato imo, cut them in 1 cm thick slices and boil until soft. Drain.

-In a fry pan, heat the oil on a low-middle fire. Add flour and mix well with a spatula. Add soy milk and sweet white miso.

-Keep stirring. The mixture will eventually thicken. Lower the fire and keep stirring well until it has reached the thickness of a white/bechamel sauce for gratins.

-On an oven plate place the taro/sato imo. Pour the gratin sauce all over. Top with corn and breadcrumbs.

-Cook in oven (180 degrees Celsius) until it has attained the colour of your liking!

NOTES:

The picture above was taken before sprinkling the gratin with breadcrumbs.
You can use the same recipe with vegan pasta instead of the taro/sato imo!

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Vegan Japanese Cuisine: Taro, Natto & Grated Daikon/Natto no Tororo Donburi

December 28, 2009 dragonlife Leave a comment

I’ve found a whole bunch of simple and healthy recipes on taro, or sato imo/里芋 as they are called in Japan that should please my vegan and vegetarian friends!

This one is called “Natto no Tororo Donburi/納豆のとろろ丼”, or Taro, Natto & Grated daikon (on a bowl of rice).
It is a very simple traditional Japanese dish that will provide a very healthy meal to vegans!

INGREDIENTS: For 1 person

-Steamed rice: 1 bowl
-Taro/sato imo: 2
-Soy sauce: 1 tablespoon
-Salt: a little pinch
-Cornstarch: 1 teaspoon
-Natto/Japanese fermented beans: 1 pack
-Grated daikon: 1~2 tablepoons ( you can mix it with a little chili powder or grated wasabi!)
-Seaweed: as much as you want

RECIPE:

-Peel the taro/satoimo and cut them into 1 cm-sided squares

-Boil the taro/satoimo in seaweed dashi stock soup or water, salt and soy sauce until tender enough.

-Mix the cornstarch in the same amount of water and add to taro/satoimo to obtain a smooth soup.

-Add natto and cok for a minute or two. Switch fire.

-Fill a bowl with rice with frshly steamed rice.
Top with seaweed, then pour the the taro/satoimo over rice.
Top with grated daikon.

NOTES:

-Mushrooms, like namakotake or shimeji can be added for more taste to the taro/sato imo.
-As said above adding chili powder to grated daikon is very popular in Japan!

Simple and easy!

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Vegan Japanese Cuisine: Taro in Sweet and Sour Sauce/Sato Imo Ankake

December 26, 2009 dragonlife Leave a comment

I’ve found a whole bunch of simple and healthy recipes on taro, or sato imo/里芋 as they are called in Japan that should please my vegan and vegetarian friends!

This one is called “satoimo nakake/里芋餡かけ” or taro in sweet and sour sauce.
It wiil make for an excellent snack to go with a drink!

INGREDIENTS: for 2 people

-Taro/sato imo: 4~5 small
-Dashi (use konbu dashi/seaweed soup stock): 125 cc/ml or 1/2 cup
-Japanese sake: 1 tablespoon
-Mirin/sweet sake: 1 tablespoon
-Fresh grated ginger: １/8 teaspoon
-Cornstarh: 1 teaspoon
-Water: 1 tablespoon
-Salt: to taste
-Chopped leeks (for topping)

RECIPE:

-Soften the taro/sato imo inside a microwave oven.
Peel them and cut them in halves.

-In a pan, pour yhe dashi/soup stock, sake, mirin and grated ginger. Let simmer for a while. Add salt for taste.

-Mix the water with the cornstarch and add to soup sauce. Stir well until smooth.

-Roll taro/sato imo in cornstarch and deep-fry in 180 degrees Celsius oil until they are cooked to a saisfying colour.

-Place deep-fried taro/sato imo on a grill or kitchen paper to take off exces oil.

-Place taro/sato imo in a dish, pour the sweet and sour sauce all over it. Top with chopped leeks and serve!

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Vegetables Facts and Tips 15: Taro/Sato Imo

December 26, 2009 dragonlife 12 Comments

SYNOPSIS:

I started this series (14 articles so far) quite some time ago to help my vegan and vegetarian (I’m not!) friends and omnivores as well because of the obvious health benefits.
Since then, I’ve learned and discovered a lot more information that could not ignored.
Therefore I plan to amend and expand all 14 former articles before I can continue introducing a lot more vegetables!
Incidentally、 nothing, pictures included, is copyrighted in my food blogs, so please feel free to use anything!

Actually this particular posting is completely new and dedicated to my new veggie-crazy friend Kinzie!

1) POTATOES, 2) TOMATOES, 3) BROCCOLI, 4) CARROTS, 5) Sweet Potatoes

Taro, also called Dasheen, and one of several plants called Cocoyam ,is a tropical plant grown primarily as a vegetable food for its edible corm, and secondarily as a leaf vegetable. It is considered a staple in Oceanic cultures. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants. In its raw form the plant is toxic due to the presence of calcium oxalate, although the toxin is destroyed by cooking or can be removed by steeping taro roots in cold water overnight. Taro is closely related to Xanthosoma and Caladium, plants commonly grown as ornamentals, and like them it is sometimes loosely called elephant ear.

The name “taro” is from Tahitian or other Polynesian languages; the plant is also called kalo (from Hawaiian), gabi in The Philippines, dalo in Fiji, Alu (अळू) in Marathi, seppankizhangu in Tamil, chembu in Malayalam, Arvee, Arvi, or Arbi in Hindi, Kosu in Assamese, Kochu(কচু) in Bengali, and Karkalo in Nepali.

In Japan, it is called satoimo (サトイモ, satoimo), (kanji: 里芋) “village potato”. The “child” and “grandchild” corms which bud from the parent satoimo, are called imonoko (芋の子, imonoko). Satoimo has been propagated in Southeast Asia since the late Jōmon period. It was a regional staple food before rice became predominant.

The tuber, satoimo, is often prepared through simmering, but occasionally grated and eaten raw or steamed. The stalk, zuiki, can also be prepared a number of ways, depending on its variety.

It is a very popular tuber in Japan and although the best season runs from September to November, it is very easy to conserve and is extensively used in many Japanese dishes.

It is of especially great value to vegetarians and vegans!

Here are some sample of cooking amenable to special priorities:

Sato Imo An/Taro in sweet and sour sauce

Taro wholly fried and seasoned with umeboshi/pickled Japanese plums

Sato Imo Nikome/Stewed Taro

TARO/SATO IMO VARIETIES:

Ishikawawase, very tender once steamed. Must be peeled before consumption.

Dodare, with strong stickiness, very soft, prevalent in Eastern Japan.

Kyo Imo, also called Take no Ko Imo, very popular for its long shape.

Chiba Maru, great and elegant taste.

Ebi Imo, although called Tou no Imo, quite sticky.

Yatsu Gashira, “Eight heads”, great stewed.

Serebesu, little stickiness, can be cooked as normal potato.

Hasu Imo, is not actually the tuber itself but the stems, eaten as green vegetables.

Yamato Wase, from Niigate and Toyama Prefectures, very white, sticky and fine-grained.

Yahata Imo, from Niigata Prefecture, great for stews.

Dentouji Sato Imo, sticky. Stems can be also eaten.

Zuiki Imo, are actually edible shoots of sato imo, mainly cooked in stews.

FACTS:

-Very rich in potassium and phosphorus!
-Vitamins B1, B2 and C.
-Rich in fibers.

TIPS:

-Best season: September~November.
-Prevent them from getting dry. Wrap them in newspaper with their attached mud/soil and keep in a well ventilated place away from the light.
-When cut, the best specimens are uniformly white without specks or blemishes.
-Very beneficial against obesity.

HEALTH FACTS:

-Combined with eggs, or chicken, or sardines, or bonito, helps brain activity and increases stamina.
-Combined with tofu, or dry bonito shavings, or skimmed milk, helps brain activity.
-Combined with mushrooms, or devil’s tongue tuber, or burdock root, helps lower blood cholesterol and cobat high blood pressure and cancer.
-Combined with seaweed, or miso, or onions, or chili peppers, helps with digestion and blood flow.