Nimiso Red Miso Vegetable Stew

Quick answer

Total time: 75 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 12

About this dish

Nimiso is an everyday Aichi stew that slowly cooks daikon, carrot, burdock, taro, konnyaku, and fried tofu in stock seasoned with dark red soybean miso, mirin, and sugar.

Also called misoni, it grew from Aichi's soybean-miso culture, represented by Hatcho miso. Red miso made from soybean koji and aged for one to three years develops deep savoriness, acidity, and a mild astringent edge. Household versions vary: some retain ample broth like a hot pot, while others reduce it to a concentrated simmered dish. Their common feature is cooking a generous batch of root vegetables. Here, burdock, konnyaku, and fried tofu are briefly blanched separately to clean their flavors, while leek is added at the end to preserve its aroma.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
daikon	200	g
carrot	150	g
burdock root	150	g
taro	180	g
Japanese leek	100	g
konnyaku	125	g
fried tofu sheet	1	sheet
red soybean miso	100	g
sugar	48	g
mirin	60	ml
kombu bonito stock	600	ml
shichimi chile blend	2	g

Instructions

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

5 steps

1

Prep

Cut 200g daikon, 150g carrot, and 180g peeled taro into bite-size irregular pieces.

Cut 150g burdock similarly, blanch 2 minutes, and drain. Slice 100g leek diagonally 1cm wide.
2

Heat

Tear 125g konnyaku into bite-size pieces with a spoon and blanch 2 minutes.

Blanch 1 tofu sheet in fresh boiling water for 30 seconds to remove oil and cut 1.5cm wide.
3

Season

Mix 100g red miso, 48g sugar, and 60ml mirin smoothly with 100ml of the stock.

Put the remaining 500ml stock, all vegetables except leek, konnyaku, and tofu in a large pot and bring to a boil.
4

Control

Skim after boiling and add the miso mixture.

Fit a paper drop lid and simmer 30 minutes, shaking the pan every 10 minutes to prevent sticking. Confirm a skewer enters taro and daikon easily.
5

Finish

Add leek and simmer 3 minutes more to retain its aroma, then divide among 4 bowls.

Serve 2g shichimi separately for diners to sprinkle lightly.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Winter roots of daikon, carrot, burdock, and taro
Finish cue: Add leek and simmer 3 minutes more to retain its aroma, then divide among 4 bowls.
Storage and reheating: Flavor deepens after reheating the next day, but chill leftovers in shallow containers within 2 hours and reheat only once to at least 75°C.