Kabura mushi: Japanese steamed turnip clouds recipe
Kabura mushi (steamed turnips) is a classic Japanese delicacy that sees fluffy, grated turnips served in a thick, silky broth infused with complex, interesting flavours. This delicate, intriguing dish captures the elegance and simplicity of traditional Japanese cuisine perfectly and is ideal for anyone who wants to experiment with cooking Japanese food at home.
The recipe was created by Nancy Singleton Hachisu, a native Californian who moved to Saitama, Japan, in 1988. Now regarded as an expert on Japanese home cooking, Nancy has received numerous accolades for her food writing, including a James Beard Award. She also made an appearance in the ‘Salt’ episode of the renowned Netflix series Salt Fat Acid Heat.
Kabura mushi is one of 250 fascinating recipes featured in her latest book. Aimed at home cooks, Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook sees Nancy offering a unique and comprehensive overview of seasonally inspired, no-waste vegetarian recipes.
For Nancy, this dish is all about the cloud-like texture of the grated turnips and mountain yams, which she grates in a traditional Japanese ceramic grater. To replicate this texture at home, use the finest grater possible.
Things to note:
This recipe calls for konbu (sometimes called kombu) dashi, a vegetarian stock made with dried kelp. You can find konbu in most Asian supermarkets.
To make the stock at home, soak 10g (1/3 cup) of konbu in 1 litre (32 fl oz) of cold water for 3 hours, then bring it to a simmer in a pan. Allow to cool to room temperature before straining out the konbu and using the stock left behind.
The recipe also requires lily bulbs, the edible bulbs from the Lilium plant, commonly used in Japanese and Chinese cuisine. If you can’t find lily bulbs, you can omit them or substitute them with water chestnuts, which have a similar starchy texture.
For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select ‘Cups’.
Ingredients
- 3 small turnips, peeled
- 0.5 small mountain yam, scrubbed and peeled
- 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt
- 50 g enoki mushrooms, spongy ends cut off, halved crosswise
- 500 ml konbu dashi
- 1 small potato
- 200 ml neutral oil, such as rapeseed or peanut oil, for deep-frying
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- 0.5 small lily bulb, scales separated (optional)
- 2 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in cold water for 20 minutes
- 1 tbsp shoyu, plus 3/4 tsp
- 1 tbsp Hon mirin
- 2 tbsp Hon kuzu (arrowroot starch) mixed with 6 tbsp water until smooth
- 12 ginkgo nuts, boiled
- 1 tsp fresh wasabi, grated
- 3 small turnips, peeled
- 0.5 small mountain yam, scrubbed and peeled
- 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1.8 oz enoki mushrooms, spongy ends cut off, halved crosswise
- 17.6 fl oz konbu dashi
- 1 small potato
- 7 fl oz neutral oil, such as rapeseed or peanut oil, for deep-frying
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- 0.5 small lily bulb, scales separated (optional)
- 2 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in cold water for 20 minutes
- 1 tbsp shoyu, plus 3/4 tsp
- 1 tbsp Hon mirin
- 2 tbsp Hon kuzu (arrowroot starch) mixed with 6 tbsp water until smooth
- 12 ginkgo nuts, boiled
- 1 tsp fresh wasabi, grated
- 3 small turnips, peeled
- 0.5 small mountain yam, scrubbed and peeled
- 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt
- 1.8 oz enoki mushrooms, spongy ends cut off, halved crosswise
- 2.1 cups konbu dashi
- 1 small potato
- 0.8 cup neutral oil, such as canola or peanut oil, for deep-frying
- 1 medium carrot, peeled
- 0.5 small lily bulb, scales separated (optional)
- 2 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked in cold water for 20 minutes
- 1 tbsp shoyu, plus 3/4 tsp
- 1 tbsp Hon mirin
- 2 tbsp Hon kuzu (arrowroot starch) mixed with 6 tbsp water until smooth
- 12 ginkgo nuts, boiled
- 1 tsp fresh wasabi, grated
Details
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Recipe Type: Vegetarian
- Difficulty: Hard
- Preparation Time: 60 mins
- Cooking Time: 45 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Finely grate the turnip and scrape into a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Leave to drain for 15 minutes. Finely grate the mountain yam and scrape into a Japanese grinding bowl or a mortar. Pound well with the pestle until you have a smooth, homogenous mix. Mix in the drained turnip with 1⁄4 tsp salt, until well combined.
- In a small saucepan, bring the enoki mushrooms and a generous 90ml (1⁄3 cup) of the dashi to a simmer over a medium-high heat. Remove from the heat and leave the mushrooms to cool to room temperature in the liquid. Drain, reserving the mushrooms and set aside.
- Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. Peel and finely grate the potato into the sieve and set aside for 20 minutes to drain. Discard the clear liquid that has accumulated in the bowl, but keep the white starch. Mix the drained potato into the starch with 1⁄8 tsp salt. Roll into 4 balls.
- In a small, high-sided saucepan, heat the oil over a medium heat until you can feel a strong heat rising from the pan.
- Slip in the potato balls and fry, turning often, until golden on all sides (about 3 minutes). Drain on a wire rack set over a pan to catch the drips.
- Slice the carrot crosswise into 4 rounds around 1/2 cm (1⁄4 in) thick. Cut those into flower shapes with a small vegetable cutter. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil over a high heat. Drop in the carrot flowers and cook until tender, 3-5 minutes. Scoop out with a wire-mesh sieve and set aside.
- Drop the lily bulb scales into the boiling water and cook for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
- Drain the wood ear mushrooms and drop them into a small saucepan with 1 tbsp each of shoyu, mirin and dashi. Bring just to a simmer over a medium-high heat, then remove from the heat and allow to cool in the cooking liquid before draining.
- In a small saucepan, bring the remaining scant 400 ml (1 2/3 cups) dashi, 1⁄8 tsp salt, and 3/4 tsp shoyu to a simmer over a medium-low heat. Scrape the arrowroot slurry into the saucepan and stir continuously over a low heat until thickened and glossy, 5-7 minutes.
- Divide the potato balls, enoki, and lily bulb scales evenly among 4 heat-resistant, rounded tea bowls. Pour the grated turnip and mountain yam mixture over the top, poke the drained wood ear mushrooms and ginkgo nuts into the viscous mixture so they are still a bit visible, lay a carrot flower artfully on top and add the thickened dashi.
- Set a bamboo steamer over a large wok 1/3 full of water and bring to the boil. Arrange the bowls in the steamer, cover them with a double layer of muslin (cheesecloth), and place the steamer cover on top. Steam over a high heat for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot with a dab of wasabi.
Recipe adapted from Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook by Nancy Singleton Hachisu (£39.95, Phaidon Press). Photography by Aya Brackett.
Japan: The Vegetarian Cookbook by Nancy Singleton Hachisu
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