山芋 Yama Imo, Japanese Mountain Potato
The "raw" truth about Japanese mountain potato:
(1) Its the only variety of potato that you can eat raw.
(2) You can grate it, mash it (see photo below), mix it with dashi, and/or add wasabi and green onions.
(3) Its re-alllllllllllllllllllllly sticky.
(4) Its scientific name is "Dioscorea opposita".
(5) I've eaten it everyday this week.
Sasaki-sensei demonstrates how to grind the yama imo. Behind her you can see a box of potatos she picked from the hills behind her temple.
Aaron bravely attempts to eat the potato.
posted by Angie @ 7:16 PM
6 Comments:
At 10:11 PM,
JJP said…
Why can't you eat other potatoes raw?
I have met plenty of old people who slice and eat raw potatoes with salt, but I never cared for them much myself.
Just curious is all.
At 10:16 PM,
Angie said…
I was taught that raw potatos are harmful and have to be cooked.
Of course, J, you might remember my issues with cleanliness in the kitchen - I tend to go overboard. Remember when I tried to wash a freshly picked tomato with the kitchen sponge and office girl went crazy? The less said about that the better!
:)
At 10:32 PM,
Anonymous said…
That last picture looks.. questionable.
At 2:18 PM,
JJP said…
Oh, yeah... But you know, I've learned that many people wash vegetables with kitchen sponges! Enough that you may even be in the majority.
At 12:45 AM,
Anonymous said…
I love em raw, can't get enough of them. I usually buy a 50 lb bag once a month. usually eat 1 raw potato every day.
At 2:48 PM,
Anonymous said…
hi I just moved to hawaii and the farmer that lives behind me grows them and gives me some every day,he says only japanese people eat it raw ive cooked them in soups and their a great (thickening)substance!
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