Japanese “Kabu” Turnip Simmered in Broth 蕪の煮物

We recently received another order of Japanese vegetables from Suzuki farm which included Japanese “kabu 蕪” turnip with attached greens.  I immediately separated the greens and blanched them in salted water. This way, both the turnips and the greens last longer. (If the greens are left attached they quickly go bad and then make the turnip go bad too.) In any case, I made this classic simmered dish with “kabu 蕪” turnips and “abura-age 油揚げ” fried tofu and garnished it with the blanched turnip greens. This is a very comforting dish with the distinctive but subtle flavor of kabu and the more assertive flavor of the greens. The abura-age also adds a nice texture and flavor, This is good as a side dish or appetizer.

Ingredients (for two servings)
4 small “kabu 蕪” Japanese turnips, peeled and quartered.
1 large or 2 small abura-age 油揚げdeep fried tofu, soaked in hot water to thaw and to remove excess oil, moisture squeezed and cut into small triangles.
Blanched turnip greens as garnish.

Simmering liquid:
1 cup Japanese broth (made of dashi pack which contain bonito flakes and kelp)
2 tbs “shiro-dashi* 白だし” Japanese seasoning sauce (from a bottle).
1 tbs mirin

*”Shiro” means white or clear and “dashi” means broth. This is a universal Japanese seasoning sauce available in a bottle at most Japanese grocery stores. It is made out of dashi broth, white or light colored soy sauce, mirin and sake. Since I usually do not keep white soy sauce or light colored soy sauce in our household, this is very convenient to have especially when you do not want to add dark color to the dish. I often use it to make “chawan-mushi 茶碗蒸し” and a dish like this one when I want to keep the turnip’s light in color.

Directions:
Add, the turnip and abura-age to the simmering liquid and simmer with a lid on for 10-20 minutes or until the turnip is cooked and soft
Garnish with the turnip greens
Serve warm

This is not as elegant as “Kabura-mushi 蕪蒸し” but a very good simple dish laden with umami and unique flavors of “kabu” turnip.