Grandma's Recipes 
福島県 
* Photo is for reference 宮城県 🍁 Autumn · Winter
Japanese Grandma's Simmered Taro Stems (Imogara no Nimono)
Imogara are dried taro stems, a traditional preserved ingredient cherished across the Tohoku region. This gentle simmered dish showcases the resourceful food preservation wisdom of northern Japan, turning humble dried stems into a comforting everyday side dish.
🧂 Ingredients
servings
* In traditional Japanese grandma cooking, measurements are approximate — think of them as guidelines rather than exact amounts.
| Main Ingredients | |
| Imogara (dried taro stems) | about a handful (Rehydrate in water before using) |
| Carrot | about half (Cut into thin strips) |
| Aburaage (thin fried tofu) | 適量 (Blanch to remove excess oil, then cut into strips) |
| Dried shiitake mushrooms | 適量 (Rehydrate and slice thinly) |
| Seasonings | |
| Dashi stock (shiitake soaking liquid or bonito dashi) | enough to just cover the ingredients |
| Soy sauce | enough to lightly color |
| Mirin (sweet rice wine) | 適量 |
| Sugar | until it's a little sweet |
| Sake (cooking rice wine) | 適量 |
| Vegetable oil | 少々 |
👩🍳 Instructions
- 1
Rehydrate the dried imogara in water, wash well, and cut into easy-to-eat lengths. Cut carrot into thin strips, blanch the fried tofu and cut into strips, and rehydrate and slice the dried shiitake.
- 2
Heat oil in a pot, lightly stir-fry the ingredients, then add dashi stock and simmer.
- 3
Add soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and sake. Simmer gently on low heat until the liquid reduces and the flavors are well absorbed.
💡 Slow simmering on low heat lets the flavors penetrate deeply.
📖 Memories & Stories
Every autumn, my grandmother would hang the taro stems from her garden to dry in the yard. Seeing them lined up under the eaves was a sign that winter was coming. As a child, I thought it was a plain side dish, but as an adult, I find its gentle flavor strangely comforting. Grandma always said 'this kind of food is good for you,' and she'd make it for me even when I had a cold. I make it myself now, but I can never quite match her flavor.
Source: Learned directly from grandmaWritten from memory (Submitted by: みやぎ)
🍽 Cultural Background
Imogara (dried taro stems) are a traditional preserved food that has been used across the Tohoku region for centuries. The practice of drying taro stems under the eaves in autumn to store as winter provisions reflects the ingenuity of people living in snow country.
