Nagaimo as it is called in Japanese or huái shān (淮山) or shān yào (山药) as in Chinese is a nutrient rich tuber/ root vegetable that is loaded with health benefits. 山药 literally translates to "mountain medicine" and has been used in traditional Chinese medicine long time ago. You can read more about nagaimo and the nutrition facts here. The Taiwanese cooking show that I mentioned before introduced me to this way of eating the nagaimo. It is so easy to prepare and I just need to pound it and mix in with my rice or noodle, so why not? You can buy the fresh nagaimo at the Asian supermarket. It is not very cheap but not too expensive either. Since I am the only one who eats this in my family, I usually buy a small piece, the above picture is 1/3 of what I bought. I cut about 1/3 of the tuber, wash it and peel it (be careful as it is very slippery, it might cause itching if you are sensitive but you can soak it in vinegar water first), then cut it into smaller pieces and place it in a Ziploc bag and pound it with the back of a cleaver or an empty bottle until mushy like picture shown above.
After that, you just pour it onto your rice or noodle. I served it in my spicy eggplant and a little turmeric brown rice and cilantro.
Mix well and enjoy the raw nagaimo. It is actually crunchy and refreshing with no taste if you can overcome the slimy and slippery texture. Just a note that this slimy and slippery thing as found in okra is actually good for our digestive system.
3 comments:
I have not cooked nagaimo for a long time. I usually add them in soups e.g. mushrooms, nagaimo and tofu in some kind of 养身汤. Next time, I will try it raw.
That's interesting! I haven't come across this tuber before.
Tigerfish, I hardly buy it before because I didn't know how to prepare it until I found this easy method! Eating it raw like this is actually quite refreshing, not to say easy! Now I alternate nagaimo and gobo when go Asian grocery shopping. :)
Phong Hong, you haven't? You should start looking for this tuber, this is a superfood to me.
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