Nimono facts for kids
Nishime, a nimono of various vegetables (including bamboo shoot, lotus root and shiitake) prepared in southern Aomori Prefecture
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| Course | Side dish |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Japan |
| Region or state | Japanese-speaking areas |
| Main ingredients | Vegetable or seafood, dashi, sake, soy sauce, mirin |
| Similar dishes | Jorim |
Nimono (which means 煮物 in Japanese) is a popular type of simmered dish from Japanese cuisine. Think of it like a stew where ingredients are gently cooked in a flavorful liquid.
A typical nimono dish starts with a main ingredient. This can be a vegetable, fish, seafood, or even tofu. These ingredients are then simmered in a special liquid called shiru stock.
The shiru stock is usually made from dashi, which is a basic Japanese broth. To give it flavor, chefs add sake (a type of rice wine), soy sauce, and a little bit of something sweet. This sweet touch often comes from mirin (a sweet cooking wine) or sugar.
The food simmers in this stock for a while. It cooks until the liquid is mostly soaked up by the ingredients or has evaporated. This process makes the ingredients very tender and full of flavor. Besides sake, soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, other things like salt, vinegar, or miso paste can be added to the stock for different tastes.
Types of Nimono
There are many different kinds of nimono dishes, each with its own special ingredients and flavors. Here are some popular ones:
Misoni
Misoni (味噌煮) is a nimono where fish or sometimes vegetables are cooked in a mix of miso paste and dashi broth. It's also known as misodaki (味噌炊き). The miso gives the dish a rich, savory taste.
Nikujaga
Nikujaga (肉じゃが) is a comforting dish that's like a Japanese beef and potato stew. It's flavored with a sweet soy sauce broth. It's a very popular home-cooked meal in Japan.
Nizakana
Nizakana (煮魚) means "simmered fish." This dish features fish poached in a broth that's often sweetened with dashi. Sometimes miso is added for extra flavor. You might also hear this dish called nitsuke (煮付け). This type of dish has been around since the early 1700s!
Kakuni
Kakuni (角煮) is a delicious dish made with thick pieces of pork belly. The pork is stewed until it's super tender in a sauce of soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Large pieces of daikon radish and whole boiled eggs are often cooked with it. In Okinawa, a slightly different version called rafuti uses a local alcohol called awamori, soy sauce, and miso.
Sōki
Sōki (ソーキ) is an Okinawan dish. It's made from pork stewed with the bone still in, making the meat incredibly flavorful and soft.
Nabemono
Nabemono (鍋物) refers to a category of "one-pot" dishes. These are often cooked at the table, and everyone shares from the same pot.
Oden
Oden (おでん) is a type of nabemono that's especially popular in winter. It's a one-pot dish with many different ingredients like boiled eggs, daikon radish, fish cakes, and konjac. All these items are simmered in a light, savory dashi broth.
Nishime
Nishime (煮染め) is a nimono dish that focuses on simmered vegetables. Common vegetables include carrots, taros, lotus root, and konnyaku. These vegetables are cooked in soy sauce and water until almost all the liquid is gone, making them very flavorful and tender.
