Dabu Chicken and Root Vegetable Soup

Quick answer

Total time: 70 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 17

About this dish

Dabu is a local soup from the Karatsu area of Saga, simmering chicken, lotus root, taro, burdock, carrot, shiitake, konnyaku, and other small-cut ingredients in abundant broth.

Its name is said to come from zabu-zabu, an expression for liquid sloshing generously around the solids. Neighbors once gathered to cook it in large pots for weddings, funerals, and invited guests. The shape and selection changed with the occasion: square pieces and wheat gluten for celebrations, while triangular konnyaku could mark Buddhist memorial meals. This version uses 18g potato starch for 1. 2L broth, adding only a thin sheen rather than turning the soup heavy.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
boneless chicken thigh	180	g
atsuage fried tofu	150	g
kamaboko fish cake	120	g
lotus root	100	g
taro	240	g
burdock root	70	g
dried frozen-konnyaku sheets	5	pieces
carrot	30	g
fresh wheat gluten cakes	5	pieces
dried shiitake	15	g
kombu and dried-sardine stock	1200	ml
sugar	24	g
light soy sauce	60	ml
sake	60	ml
salt	4	g
potato starch	18	g
cold water for slurry	36	ml

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Prep

Rehydrate 5 dried frozen-konnyaku sheets in warm water for the package time, squeeze, and shred finely.

Soak 15g dried shiitake in cold water until soft, remove stems, and cut to 1cm.
2

Prep

Cut 180g chicken, 150g atsuage, 120g kamaboko, 100g lotus root, 240g peeled taro, and 30g carrot into 1cm cubes.

Shave 70g burdock into thin slivers, soak in cold water 5 minutes and drain, then halve 5 fresh gluten cakes.
3

Control

Bring 1.2L kombu and dried-sardine stock with 60ml sake to a boil.

Add chicken, return to a boil, skim foam, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
4

Control

Add lotus root, taro, burdock, carrot, shiitake, and konnyaku and simmer gently for 12 minutes.

Add atsuage, kamaboko, and fresh gluten, then cook 5 minutes more without vigorous stirring that would break the taro edges.
5

Control

Add 24g sugar, 60ml light soy sauce, and 4g salt and simmer 3 minutes.

Confirm the chicken center is at least 74°C and a skewer enters the lotus root and taro while the pieces still hold their shape.
6

Heat

Mix 18g potato starch smoothly with 36ml cold water.

Keep the soup at a gentle boil, stir the slurry again, and pour broadly in three additions. Boil 1 minute and stop when the broth lightly coats a spoon but still flows easily.