Gobo to satsumaage, shimeji no donburi / burdock root, deep-fried fishcake and shimeji mushrooms over steamed rice

This is a reduced-sodium version of my standard gobo donburi. By desalinating satsumage fishcake and replacing part of soy sauce with rice vinegar, you can enjoy a tasty donburi without worrying about getting too much sodium!

1/2 of recipe (when served with 150 g steamed rice):
353 calories; 11.2 g protein; 3.6g fat; 65.5 g carbohydrate; 62.8 g net carbs; 320 mg sodium (with 50% reduced sodium; 548 mg with regular soy sauce); 107 mg cholesterol; 2.7 g fiber


<Ingredients>

2 bowls of steamed rice (not in photo)

15cm gobo burdock root (44 g in photo)
1 satsumaage deep-fried fishcake (40 g in photo)
Tiny handful shimeji mushrooms (44 g in photo)
1 egg
Tiny handful mitsuba (6 g in photo)
200-250 cc dashi
1 tbsp sake
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce


<Directions>
1.

Microwave satsumaage in water for 1 minute (or boil it in a small pot); let sit in the same water for 15-20 minutes to desalinate.







2.

Sasagaki diagonally slice gobo, and immediately soak in water.
Slice satsumaage into pieces 3-4 mm thick.
Cut off root ends of shimeji.
Chop mitsuba.
Lightly beat egg.




3.

In a pot, put dashi, sake, rice vinegar and gobo, and bring to boil.

Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 5 minutes.









4.

Add shimeji and satsumaage.

Cover, and simmer until gobo is tender.










5.

Add soy sauce, mix, and cook until liquid is reduced to below the level of goodies.








6.

Swirl in egg, and sprinkle mitsuba, 

Cover, and turn off heat.










7.

Serve over steamed rice.

<Notes>

• Desalination of satsumaage can be done ahead of time, even a day in advance.
• Even if sodium intake is not a concern, boil satsumaage or pour boiling water over it to get rid of excess oil. This makes a big difference in the final dish's taste. 
• Any mild mushroom works. Fresh shiitake, hiratake oyster, eringi king oyster and chanterelle mushrooms are excellent choices.
• Mitsuba can be added after goodies are served over rice. In the recipe above I cooked mitsuba, as in this case stems and leaves were both tough. 
• If mitsuba is not available, try any leafy greens, green onion, sugar peas, snow peas, etc.
• Nutrition figures (especially calories) change significantly according to the amount of steamed rice. For example, the energy figure would go down by 50 calories when served with 120 g rice, and go up by 50 calories when served with 180g steamed rice. The amount of goodies served would naturally go up and down... just to give you a rough idea of changes in these numbers.
• The sodium content figure above is based on the assumption that 80% of sodium in satsumaage is eliminated in the prep stage. This is a conservative assumption, and actual sodium content is likely to be lower than the above number.