Rolled Chicken in Kombu (Tori no kombu-maki)

A traditional Japanese family dish. Try using root vegetables and vegetarian dashi instead of chicken and standard dashi for a vegetarian/vegan alternative.
Ingredients
Serves: 4
- 30g dried kombu
- 200ml water
- 200g chicken breast or thigh (or root vegetables)
- 20cm gourd
- 600ml dashi
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- 1 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp sake
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
Steps
- Soak the kombu in the 200ml water. Keep the water to use later. Rinse the gourd, rub it with salt, and soak in some lukewarm water. Cut into 8cm strips when softened.
- Cut the kombu into rectangular strips, 5 x 10cm.
- Cut the chicken into thin strips (the same number as the kombu strips), 5cm in length.
- Place a strip of chicken on the kombu, along the narrow side, and roll toward the other end. Then tie the centre of the roll with a strip of gourd. Repeat the process until you have used up all the kombu.
- Place the rolled kombu in a pan, and add the dashi and the water used for soaking the kombu.
- Cut some cooking foil slightly smaller than the diameter of the pan, and cover the kombu. Simmer until the kombu becomes soft.
- Add <A> to the pan and simmer again for about 15 minutes.