■加薬御飯

Ingredients 1/3 section lotus root 1/2 carrot 4 shiitake mushrooms 1 piece thin deep-fried tofu 1 burdock root 1/2 cake konnyaku (devil's tongue jelly) 30 g dried sardines 3 cups rice 900 cc stock 15 cc mirin (sweet sake) 3/4 tsp salt 50 cc light soy sauce Procedure 1.Make stock from the dried sardines. First pinch off the heads. 2.Pinch off the belly area. The heads and bellies are removed so that they do not impair the flavour of the stock. This also yields a clearer stock. 3.Put 6 cups water and a 5 cm square piece of kombu kelp in a pot and heat. 4.When boiling, add the dried sardines. 5.Reduce to medium heat and simmer for a few minutes. 6.Skim off the foam and strain the stock through paper towel. 7.Place the deep-fried tofu in boiling water to remove excess oil. 8.Cut the carrot into 3 cm long julienne strips, the thickness of a matchstick. Rub the konnyaku with salt and boil. Slice off thin, rectangular pieces. Finely chop the deep-fried tofu. Shave the burdock root from the end (as if sharpening a pencil) to make thin chips. Remove the stalks from the shiitake mushrooms and slice the mushroom caps finely. Peel the lotus root and quarter it. Slice each quarter thinly to make thin, quarter- moon pieces. 9.Season the sardine stock with salt, mirin and light soy sauce. Put washed rice, seasoned stock, prepared vegetables, konnyaku and tofu in a pot. Cover and cook until the rice is done. 10.Serving suggestion