Kabu no ebi-ankake / Japanese turnips with thickened prawn sauce

A very soothing dish. Soft, juicy kabu turnips and naturally sweet prawns make a tender twosome, and the distinctive taste and aroma of mitsuba add just the right accent. Ginger gives a refreshing note.

<Ingredients>

2-3 kabu Japanese turnips
Handful (100-120 g) prawns (6 botan-ebi spot shrimp in photo)
Several stems mitsuba
1 small knob ginger

For broth
300 cc dashi
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp mirin
2 tsp usukuchi soy sauce
1/3 tsp salt
1 tbsp potato starch + (1 - 1 1/2 tbsp) water


<Directions>
1.

Chop mitsuba into 2 cm.
Skin and cut kabu into 4 or 6 (in the photo, I cut into smaller-size pieces because turnips were different sizes; see note for a common way of cutting).
Grate ginger.

2.

In a pot, put dashi and kabu, and bring to boil.
When boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes.

3.

Meanwhile, shell and devein prawns, and sogigiri cut at a slant into 3 sections.

4.

Add sake, mirin, usukuchi soy sauce and 1/2-2/3 of the specified amount of salt, and simmer for another 5 minutes or so until kabu is tender.

If a toothpick or skewer smoothly goes in, kabu is done for this process.

5.

When kabu is tender, add prawns.

When prawns turn opaque (prawns do not need to be cooked through at this point), mix potato stach and water well again.

Add potato starch + water mixture to kabu.
Here I put potato starch + water mixture in a ladle, and mix in broth.
 

Simmer for 30-60 seconds to thicken broth.

Taste, add salt as necessary, and mix.

Add mistuba.

Squeeze ginger, and mix.
Ready to serve.

<Notes>

• Kabu is typically cut lengthwise into 2, 4 or 6 depending on size. Photo at right shows each of 2 kabu cut into 4 sections. Above, I cut the large kabu into a small size to match the other small kabu. Cutting ingredients in matching size ensures each piece is done at the same time.
• Prawns cook fast, and they continue to cook while adding potato starch + water mixture and whatnot, so do not wait for them to completely cook through in Process 5. Overcooked prawns have an unpleasant rubbery texture.