Grandma's Recipes 
石川県 
* Photo is for reference 富山県 🍁 Autumn · Winter
Japanese Grandma's Kombu Everything Stew (Gottani)
This rustic stew from Toyama is the ultimate 'use what you have' dish. True to the 'mottainai' spirit, grandmothers never throw away kombu after making dashi — they tie it into knots and simmer it right into the stew alongside whatever vegetables are on hand.
🧂 Ingredients
servings
* In traditional Japanese grandma cooking, measurements are approximate — think of them as guidelines rather than exact amounts.
| Main Ingredients | |
| Daikon radish | About half (Peel and cut into chunks) |
| Carrot | 1 medium (Peel and cut) |
| Shiitake mushrooms | A few (Slice thinly) |
| Konnyaku (konjac) | About half a block (Slice into strips) |
| Potatoes | 2 medium (Cut into pieces) |
| Chicken | Just a little (Cut into pieces) |
| Dashi & Seasonings | |
| Kombu (dried kelp) | All the dashi kombu (Reuse from making dashi — tie into knots or slice) |
| Soy sauce | A splash |
| Mirin | A splash |
| Sugar | One spoonful |
| Salt | A small pinch (Adjust at the end) |
👩🍳 Instructions
- 1
Peel and cut daikon, carrot, and potatoes into chunks.
- 2
Slice shiitake and konnyaku. Cut chicken into pieces.
- 3
Pour kombu dashi into pot, add vegetables and chicken.
💡 Don't discard the dashi kombu — add it in too
- 4
Skim foam, add soy sauce, mirin, and sugar.
- 5
Simmer until tender. Adjust salt at end.
💡 The longer you simmer, the more umami develops
📖 Memories & Stories
Grandma would say 'Nothing should go to waste' as she transformed fridge leftovers into this magical stew. On cold winter nights, listening to the pot bubbling while the family chatted — those are memories I'll never forget.
Source: Learned directly from grandmaWritten from memory (Submitted by: たっくん)
🍽 Cultural Background
Toyama boasts some of Japan's highest kombu consumption thanks to historical trade routes. The mottainai philosophy means kombu used for dashi is always repurposed rather than discarded.
