Mimi (Folded Wheat Dumplings in Miso Soup)

Quick answer

Total time: 80 min
Level: Hard
Servings: 5 servings
Ingredients: 11

About this dish

Mimi is a regional soup from Jikkoku in Fujikawa, Yamanashi.

Wheat dough is rolled thin, cut into 5cm squares, and joined at two corners on one side to form small scoops before being cooked directly in miso broth with daikon, carrot, taro, burdock, and shiitake. The scoop is associated with gathering good fortune, so the dish is offered on New Year's morning and at celebrations. The pasta is not boiled separately; its flour lightly thickens the soup, and the folded seam must cook completely through.

Ingredients (5 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
daikon	200	g
carrot	100	g
taro	500	g
burdock root	120	g
fresh shiitake mushrooms	90	g
Japanese long onion	100	g
miso	100	g
wheat flour	300	g
lukewarm water for the dough	150	ml
niboshi dried sardines	20	g
water for the broth	800	ml

Instructions

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

7 steps

1

Control

Add 150ml lukewarm water gradually to 300g flour rather than all at once and knead for 8 minutes.

When smooth and no longer very sticky, cover with a damp cloth and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2

Prep

Cut 200g daikon into 5mm quarter-rounds and 100g carrot into 5mm half-moons.

Wearing gloves, peel 500g taro and cut bite-size. Slice 120g burdock diagonally 5mm thick, shred 90g shiitake, and slice 100g long onion into 5mm rounds.
3

Prep

Roll the rested dough 2 to 3 mm thick and cut it into 5 cm squares.

Bring two corners of one side together, pinch the seam firmly into a small winnowing-basket shape, and keep the pieces separated under a damp cloth.
4

Control

Remove heads and guts from 20g niboshi, add them to 800ml broth water, and bring to a boil over medium heat.

Simmer for 7 minutes, then remove every sardine to leave a clear stock.
5

Control

Add daikon, carrot, taro, burdock, and shiitake to the stock.

When it returns to a boil, simmer over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until a chopstick enters the taro easily and the burdock bends tenderly.
6

Heat

Keep the stock boiling and add the mimi one at a time so they do not stick.

Cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Split the thickest joined seam and confirm no raw flour remains.
7

Finish

Loosen 100g miso with two ladlefuls of broth and return it to the pot, then add 100g long onion.

Heat gently for 2 minutes without a hard boil, divide the mimi and root vegetables evenly, and serve hot.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Five-centimeter dough squares joined into winnowing scoops
Finish cue: Loosen 100g miso with two ladlefuls of broth and return it to the pot, then add 100g long onion.
Avoid this: Keep the stock boiling and add the mimi one at a time so they do not stick.