Taro and Chicken Nimono

From the garden

• 1½ lb taro corms (satoimo), peeled with gloves, large ones halved
• 1 medium carrot, cut into rough chunks
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced

From the pantry

• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 cups chicken stock · or dashi, which is the traditional broth here
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar · or a splash of mirin if there is a bottle open
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil · added off the heat
• salt · the soy carries most of it, so taste before adding any

1. Pull on gloves before peeling, because the raw sap itches and no part of a taro plant is safe to eat raw or half cooked. Peel the corms, halve any bigger than an egg, and rinse them under cold water.
2. Rub the peeled corms with a spoonful of salt to strip off the slipperiness, rinse them again, then boil them in plain water for 5 minutes and pour that water away.
3. Brown the chicken in the neutral oil in a wide heavy pan over medium-high heat, 4 to 5 minutes, then add the ginger and carrot and stir for a minute until they smell warm.
4. Pour in the stock, soy sauce and sugar, slide in the parboiled taro, and simmer covered on low for 25 minutes, until a skewer passes through the largest corm with no resistance. A cooked piece that still prickles the throat is telling you it needs longer, so keep it simmering.
5. Uncover and raise the heat for 5 to 8 minutes, spooning the broth over the corms until it reduces to a glaze that coats them. Finish off the heat with the sesame oil and green onions, then taste for salt and serve with rice.