Fuki no gomani / Japanese butterbur in sesame-flavored broth

Fuki's mild bitterness is softened by tahini sesame paste, making the juicy stalks a delightful companion for your meal and drinks. Delicious hot or at room temperature. Adjust the amount of tahini to make the dish lighter or richer.

1/2 of recipe:
59 calories; 2.2 g protein; 2.4 g fat; 5.9 g carbohydrate; 4.8 g net carbs; 112 mg sodium (with 50% reduced-sodium soy sauce; about 200 mg with regular soy sauce); 0 mg cholesterol; 1.1 g fiber

<Ingredients>

4 stalks (approx. 150 g) fuki Japanese butterbur (126g in photo)

For broth
150 cc dashi 
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sake & mirin (equal parts)
1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tahini or nerigoma white sesame paste

<Directions>
1.

Wash fuki, and cut into length that fits in pot.
Blanch fuki (boil 2-3 minutes).

Transfer to cold water to cool, and skin. 

Cut into 4-5 cm.

2.

Meanwhile, put all ingredients for broth in another pot, and bring to boil. 

3.

Add fuki, and simmer for 7-8 minutes on medium low or lower heat. 

Ready to serve.

<Notes>

• Let sit for some time (30+ minutes) for a deeper taste. If serving much later, keep fuki and broth separately in order to prevent fuki from absorbing more sodium than necessary.
• You can skip rolling fresh fuki with salt against the cutting board in the prep process, as this is to obtain a vivid color after blanching. When only a small number of fuki stalks are used, peeling their skin takes very little time (making peeling easier is another function of itazuri, or rolling with salt against cutting board).
  
• If tahini or nerigoma sesame paste is not at hand, roasted sesame seeds work. Grind 2-3 tbsp sesame seeds almost to a paste (shown in photo at right), and add to the broth. This gives a much lighter taste than when making the dish with tahini. Throw in one or two usuage thin deep-fried tofu (cut in squares or rectangles) if a richer taste is desired.
• The above nutrition figures (other than sodium) should be slightly lower, as they include all tahini that goes into the broth. The sodium figure is when the broth served with fuki is not consumed.
   

(Last updated: May 11, 2015)