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Ebiimo to Bodara no Taitan
Ebiimo to bodara no taitan — Kyoto's striped ebi-imo taro simmered with dried cod
Ebi-imo, a striped Kyoto heirloom taro named for its shrimp-like ridges, simmers together with bodara, cod dried in Hokkaido. Gelatin from the dried cod is said to keep the taro from falling apart, while the taro's bitterness softens the cod — a textbook 'deaimon' pairing.
- Origin: Kyoto
- About 370 km west of Tokyo
Lineage
What it's made of
This dish simmers ebiimo, a traditional Kyoto vegetable shaped and striped like a shrimp, together with bodara, dried cod from Hokkaido. Ebiimo has a distinctively sticky, dense texture, said to turn rich and deeply flavored once it's absorbed the cod's umami. Shredded yuzu is added at the end to lend fragrance. Its fine, dense flesh resists breaking down when simmered, which is said to be why it's favored for slow-simmered dishes.
How it's made
The dried cod, cut into chunks, is softened in dashi or rice-rinsing water, then simmered together with ebiimo in a fresh batch of dashi. Once the ebiimo has softened, the ingredients are removed, the broth reduced further, then poured back over before shredded yuzu is scattered on top, it's said. If ebiimo isn't available, taro can be substituted, and the first dashi used to soften the cod is said to carry a fishy edge, so a fresh batch is used for the actual simmering.
Why it took this shape
The gelatin released by the dried cod is said to keep the ebiimo from breaking apart, while the harshness released by the ebiimo is said to help soften the cod, each ingredient drawing out the best in the other, and the pairing has long been prized for that balance. Kyoto, once home to the imperial court, is said to have drawn ingredients from across the country, fostering a culture of deaiimon, or pairing seasonal foods at their peak. This dish is thought to represent that tradition, long served at New Year's and other celebratory occasions.
Before you go
- How to shop at a supermarketHow to choose prepared foods, sashimi, and packaged sushi, when discount stickers tend to appear, region-only specialties, buying by weight, the checkout and bagging flow, and sampling etiquette at a local supermarket.
- Osechi and zoni for the New YearA guide to the meaning behind osechi's tiered boxes, the regional differences in zoni (square vs. round mochi, clear vs. miso broth), and the nanakusa-gayu custom.
- Setsubun: ehomaki and lucky beansA guide to ehomaki, the uncut sushi roll said to be eaten facing a lucky direction on Setsubun, and to mamemaki, the bean-throwing custom with roasted lucky beans.
Dishes in the same style
- Agonoko UmaniThe roe of egg-bearing flying fish, caught only in early summer, is simmered in stock and soy sauce as an Oki bar snack. Its large grains and dense, sticky texture are prized as a delicacy said to be scarcer even than the fish's flesh.
- Funa MisoCrucian carp is simmered slowly with soybeans for around five hours, then finished in a sauce of red miso and coarse sugar. A freshwater fish dish of the Kiso rivers' lower basin, made with fatty winter carp simmered until the bones soften through.
Ingredients and dishes from this land
Also from Kyoto
- Chirimen SanshoChirimen-jako simmered sweet-salty with fresh sansho peppercorns in sake, soy sauce, and mirin — a Kyoto side dish said to have begun as a cook's gift in the mid-Showa era. The peppercorns leave a sharp, fragrant aftertaste.
- Fushimi no SakeSake from Fushimi in Kyoto, a district fed by groundwater from the Momoyama plateau. Its water is said to be softer than Nada's, giving a round mouthfeel and gentle, full sweetness that overlaps with the profile recognized under the GI Kyoto geographical indication.
- GanmodokiTofu mixed with vegetables, rolled into balls, and fried. Known in Kyoto as hirousu or hiryōzu, thought to have taken this form through the vegetarian temple-cooking idea of a filling dish made without meat.
- Hamo no YakimonoPike conger, riddled with fine bones, is scored with the skilled honekiri cut and then grilled — teriyaki-glazed or salted — in Kyoto cuisine. Said to have taken root in landlocked Kyoto because the hardy fish could be carried in alive, it is also a festival food for Gion Matsuri, nicknamed the 'hamo festival.'
- Kamonasu DengakuKamonasu, a round Kyoto heirloom eggplant over 10cm across sometimes called the 'queen of eggplants,' is sliced and pan-fried in plenty of oil, then topped with a sweet miso reduced with sake and mirin. It is said to have long been grown on the alluvial fan of Kamigamo.
- Kibi Mochi, Awa Mochi, Tochi MochiIn the mountain villages of Tanba, where rice alone was hard to grow, mochi has long been pounded with millet, foxtail millet, or horse chestnuts mixed into the sticky rice. Once a stand-in for a rice-scarce staple, its rustic flavor is now valued again and sold by confectioners at year's end.