Imoni soup is a popular Japanese dish made with taro potatoes, beef, and various Asian seasonings and vegetables. It is served during the autumn harvest and can be customized with different ingredients. The largest Imoni Festival in the world takes place in Yamagata, where a giant batch of soup is prepared for thousands of attendees.
Japanese imoni soup is a popular seasonal staple at social events throughout this island nation. Literally translating to “hot potatoes,” this soup typically uses the native taro style of beef potatoes and a range of Asian seasonings and vegetables. In the Japanese city of Yamagata, the annual Imoni Festival is the largest in the world, with a giant batch of soup prepared downtown in a vat about 6 meters in diameter.
This soup is mainly served in autumn, during the September harvest for taro potatoes. Thought to be one of the earliest cultivated vegetables, this plant has a starchy tuber or corm at its base, but is widely recognized for its elephant ear leaves. Taro was grown worldwide in 2011, mostly for landscaping as it is only a regular staple in Asia and Africa.
After peeling the taro potatoes and cutting them into large chunks, the chefs will cook up some chopped onions and strips of beef in an oiled pan. Soy sauce and sugar are added for flavor, then the taro pieces enter, along with enough water to soak everything in the dish. Another Japanese delicacy, called konnyaku, or devil’s tongue, adds a slimy, paste-like texture with very few calories. Just before the potatoes are cooked, salt, pepper and MSG are regularly added to balance out the flavours.
There are several variants of imoni available. Often different Japanese cities will have slightly different imoni recipes. Hard-boiled eggs, wild mushrooms, cabbage, daikon, carrots, beets, snow peas, or celery can be added for more color and texture. The taste can be boosted further by adding condiments like curry or chili powder or even some sake belts. Miso paste is regularly replaced or added to the soy sauce component.
When the imoni forms the center of a social gathering, the celebration is called imonikai. At the Yamagata Autumn Festival, ingredients are added to the giant pot with a mechanized crane. To feed an estimated 30,000 attendees each year, the city’s appointed chefs must assemble a soup with nearly 3 tons (about 2,250 kg) of taro potatoes, 1.2 tons (nearly 1,100 kg) of beef, 3,500 onions, 185 gallons (or 700 litres) of soy sauce and equally heavy portions of all other ingredients.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
