This is a beautiful take on ごもくまめ (gomoku-mame), or “5 things and [soy]beans.” Or something like that. Often, the dish includes kombu or hijiki, mushrooms, konnyaku, gobo (burdock root), and renkon (lotus root)—the latter two to contribute a literally earthy taste.
Well, here we had to go with what was in our fridge, and we have five things including soybeans, but I think it still counts:
- shitake mushrooms
- kombu (seaweed)
- carrots
- snap peas
Yusuke anticipated this meal by soaking the soybeans in water for 24 hours or so. When it was time to start cooking, he drained them and added new water, bringing it to a boil. The beans were cooked for about an hour at low to medium heat, and he periodically scooped out the thin, bitter residue that comes off the beans.
Meanwhile, he soaked dried shitake for about 30 minutes. and then added the mushrooms, along with their soaking water, to the beans—enough water to cover them.
Next he added pieces of kombu that had been chopped into square-shaped pieces.
Then he added 1 tsp of sugar and 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Everything simmered for a while to reduce the water. Midway through the simmering stage, he added chopped carrots, and then almost at the very end came chopped snap peas.
Yummy and very filling.
Chez Yusuke 