Recipe/Directions for Simmered Chicken and Root Vegetables (Low Sodium)

Directions

Chop the chicken meat into small bite-size pieces. Roughly chop up the lotus root and carrot into small pieces, scrape off the gobo peel, roughly chop up into small pieces then place into water. Remove stems and half the shiitake mushrooms. Use a spoon to tear the konnyaku into small bite-size pieces, then parboil.
Place the sesame oil into a fry pan over medium heat and cook the chicken. Once browned, add in the lotus root, carrot and gobo and cook all together.
When the oil has been spread throughout, add in (A), the shiitake mushrooms and the konnyaku then cover with a drop-lid* made of aluminum foil and simmer over medium heat for about 30 minutes.

Checkpoints

Yam cake - cutting into bite-size pieces

Using a spoon to cut will result in a surface that is coarser than one cut using a knife, so flavor will be absorbed easier. You can also use your fingers to tear into bite-size chunks.

Yam cake (parboiling)

If you quickly place the yam cake into boiling water (parboil) the distinct odor of the yam cake will be removed, flavor and seasonings will be soaked up easier, and the rubbery texture will be refreshed. The appropriate boiling time is for 2 to 3 minutes in water that is at a rolling boil. Avoid over-boiling as this will result in hard yam cake.

Lotus root - random cut

Peel the skin and cut in half lengthwise, or cut in quarters lengthwise if thick. From the edge, cut irregularly into bite-sized pieces.

Carrots - random cut

Peel the carrot and chop into easy-to-eat pieces while turning. For thick carrots, first cut in half lengthwise. By placing the knife in approximately the center of the previous cut and then cutting, uniform-sized pieces can be achieved.