- 300ml (10.1oz) dry soybeans soaked in 1L water overnight (note 1)
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms , rehydrated (note 2), cut into 7mm (1/4") cubes
- 50g (1.8oz) carrot, diced into 7mm (1/4") cubes
- 50g (1.8oz) lotus root, sliced into 5mm (3/16")thick, then cut to 6 pieces (note 3)
- 50g (1.8oz) konnyaku, diced into 7mm (1/4") cubes
- 10cm x 10cm (4" x 4") konbu (dried kelp) , cut into 8mm (5/16") squares
- blanched snow peas , julienned
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Place the soybeans together in the soaking water in a pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
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Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 50 minutes (note 4) without a lid on, occasionally removing the white foam that accumulates on the surface. The water level should always be above the surface of the beans. Add extra water if required.
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When beans are cooked, add all the vegetables to the pot. Adjust the water level to just cover the beans and vegetables.
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Add the Flavouring ingredients and turn the heat up to high. When it starts boiling, remove scum, if any, then bring down the heat to medium. Place a drop lid on (note 5) and cook for 15 minutes.
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Turn the heat off and leave to let the vegetables absorb the flavour.
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Serve in a bowl to share or in small bowls individually, with few pieces of julienned snow peas on the top.
1. 300ml (10.1oz) of dry soybeans weighs 240g (8.5oz). When fully soaked, the weight of the beans becomes about twice of the original weight. In my case, it weighed 500g (17.6oz).
2. When rehydrated, my mushrooms weighed about 50g (1.8oz).
3. The diameter of my lotus root was 5-6cm (2"-2 3/8") so I cut each slice into 6 pie shapes. If much larger in diameter, you would need to cut each slice into more pieces so that the size of each piece is similar to the other vegetables.
4. The time required to cook soybeans varies depending on how firm/soft you want the beans to be. You can check it by eating a bean from time to time.
5. A drop lid is called otoshi buta (落し蓋) in Japanese. It is a round lid which is slightly smaller than the opening of a saucepan. It is traditionally made of wood but I have a stainless steel lid. It is placed on top of the ingredients in a pot to ensure the heat is evenly distributed, ingredients cook faster, and stay in place without breaking apart. It also stops the liquid from evaporating quickly.
If you don’t have a drop lid, you can make one with aluminium foil. Cut a square out of foil, fold the edges to make it a round shape with the diameter slightly smaller than the pot. Then poke the foil with a knife or a chopstick to make holes in several places.
6. If you are using soybeans which are already cooked, start from Step 3 and add ½ teaspoon of dashi powder.