This Japanese Mountain Yam Will Boost Your Rice Game

A vegetable-loaded alternative to plain rice

Kaki Okumura
Heated
Published in
3 min readOct 19, 2020

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Drawing of furikake rice and a mountain yam.
Illustrations: Kaki Okumura

On a lazy weekend morning when I’m hungry but unwilling to spend more than 10 minutes in the kitchen, healthy and vegetable-rich dishes often take a backseat. But to prevent such habits, I have a repertoire of quick and simple ways to add more fresh vegetables to my meals, and tororo furikake rice takes a special place.

While a stir-fry or a thick sauce can be a nice way to add decadence to a meal, when I’m thinking light and refreshing, my favorite way of flavoring rice is done without using oils or heavy salt. Using natural umami flavors and whole vegetables to add fiber and texture, tororo furikake rice is reliable and comes out perfect every time.

What is tororo?

Nagaimo

Tororo is grated Japanese mountain yam, also known as nagaimo, that is flavored with dashi and sometimes a bit of soy sauce. It’s often served as a condiment to soba in restaurants, but one of my favorite ways to enjoy it is over rice.

Nagaimo is sometimes referred to as “mountain medicine” because of its digestive boosting enzymes and…

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Published in Heated

Food from every angle: A publication from Medium x Mark Bittman

Kaki Okumura
Kaki Okumura

Written by Kaki Okumura

Born in Dallas, raised in New York and Tokyo. I care about helping others learn to live a better, healthier life. My site: www.kakikata.space 🌱