Gysuji Doteni (Beef tendon and Konjac Miso Stew)

Doteni (どて煮：牛すじと大根のみそ煮)

What kind of dish is Doteni??

Doteni is a dish made by simmering motsu (pork or beef innards), vegetables, and konnyaku (konjac) with mame miso, and is one of Nagoya’s representative local dishes. Some families also add vegetables such as carrots and eggplant. (If miso is not used, the dish is called “motsuni.”)

mame miso = soy bean miso = hatcho miso

It is common to top it with chopped green onions and shichimi togarashi (a Japanese spice).

Originally, miso is not very suitable for simmered dishes because its flavor and aroma weakens when heated for a long time. However, mame miso is very mature, so it is said that it can be simmered for a long time.

Therefore, mame miso is suitable for this dish. The reason this dish developed as a Nagoya specialty is because Nagoya is a famous producer of mame miso.

Please try this dish, which has an appealing combination of beef tendons simmered until they melt in your mouth, radish, and plump konnyaku.

For more information on mame miso, please see our article on miso cutlet, and for more information on beef tendon, please see our article on beef tendon curry.

A dish of udon noodles topped with “Sujikon (beef tendon and konnyaku stewed in soy sauce)” is called “bokkake udon.” The photo below shows “bokkake style udon” topped with doteni. This is a highly recommended way to eat doteni.

What kind of food is konnyaku(konjac)??

Konnyaku is a processed food made from the konnyaku potato, and has been popular in Japan since ancient times.

My grandmother’s house was in the very countryside, and every year, konnyaku potatoes were cultivated and harvested in the fields in that area, and each household processed them into konnyaku.

Konnyaku potatoes are said to be a relatively difficult vegetable to cultivate and store for long periods of time. Therefore, there are very few ordinary households that make konnyaku by hand these days. In large factories, it is common to manufacture konnyaku using konnyaku potatoes that have been processed into powder.

Konnyaku potatoes have such a strong stimulant that even a small bite makes your mouth tingle, so you cannot eat them just by boiling or baking them like other potatoes.

The true identity of this stimulant is oxalic acid and calcium oxalate. To remove this, calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate are now used.

Interestingly, both oxalic acid and calcium hydroxide are substances called “Aku = Lye” in Japan.

I take my hat off to the wisdom of our ancestors, who used lye to remove the lye.

The jiggy texture that is characteristic of konnyaku is due to the dietary fiber called konnyaku mannan contained in konnyaku.

After the lye is removed, the konnyaku potatoes turns into a jelly-like form using the coagulating action of mannan.

Incidentally, konnyaku made from konnyaku potato is gray in color. However, modern konnyaku has a whitish appearance because it is made from konnyaku potatoes that have been processed into powder.

This time, we will use ita konnyaku, which is formed into a square shape.

There are also various other types, such as ito konnyaku (thin string-like), tama konnyaku (ball-shaped), and sashimi konnyaku, which is eaten raw.

NUTRITION FACTS OF Gysuji Doteni (Beef tendon and Konjac Miso Stew)

TOTAL NUTRITION VALUE

• 1721 kcal
• Protein 213 g
• Fat 41.1 g
• Carbs 138.0 g
• Salt Equivalent 15.3 g

INGREDIENTS FOR Gysuji Doteni (Beef tendon and Konjac Miso Stew) (5SERVINGS)

• Beef tendon (700g)
• Daikon radish (650g)
• Konjac (250g)
• ☆Sugar (50g)
• ☆Sake (30g)
• ☆Mirin (50g)
• ☆Hatcho miso (100g)
• ☆Soy sauce (15g)

You can also use pre-processed beef tendons (boiled and dried). In that case, you should also boil them once before using.

Gysuji Doteni (Beef tendon and Konjac Miso Stew) COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash the beef tendons under running water.
2. Put the beef tendons in boiling water and boil until they change color (the weight after boiling was 500g).
3. Cut the boiled beef tendons into bite-sized pieces. When processing beef tendons, you can remove the odor by boiling them with Japanese leek or ginger. This dish is strong flavored with mame miso, so it is said that you can omit the Japanese leek and ginger.
4. Cut the konnyaku with a spoon and soak in boiling water for 5 minutes. The reason for soaking it in hot water is to flush out the lye contained in the konnyaku. The more cut surfaces there are, the easier the flavor will penetrate into the konnyaku.
5. Wash the daikon, peel it, and cut it into 5cm cubes.
6. Put all the ingredients (beef tendons, daikon, konnyaku, sugar, sake, mirin, miso, soy sauce) in a pressure cooker and pressure cook for 2 minutes.
7. Once the pressure is released, open the lid and simmer for a few minutes.