How to cook taro root or satoimo

I, like most Westerners am not a big fan of sliminess (I actually like the smell of natto, but prefer the similar but non-slimy tempeh), but I found taro can have a delicious creamy texture when cooked lightly like one would sunflower chokes. For example, I used it in yellow curry.

In any even, the recipe looks delicious! I think I'll try it.. I've gotten more and more used to slimy things from going to Japan so much and have grown to like some foods...

Thanks for the info; are elephant ears (US) taro, or do they just look similar? Are any other parts of the taro used as food?

As far as slimy food, nopales (cactus pads from the 'prickly pear' cactus) are pretty slimy. Have they caught on with Japanese folks? I sliced, breaded, and deep fried a pad, but hubby was pretty squicked out by it (I didn't soak it).

As strange as this sounds, even now I'm a little turned off by taro root not because of its sliminess but because of its taste. I don't know, there's just this weird taste to it that I can't put my finger on. (But obviously the Japanese can, because they make taro ice cream)

I didn't know that about the slimy foods. I've seen taro in stores here, but don't think I've ever tasted it. Sounds interesting and healthful though.

I grew up on Okinawa where my grandmother grew a whole field of them. The typical Okinawan style is to first boil them, peel, cut each into about 6 pieces and cook on medium low heat with Okinawan black sugar (malvado), chunks of ginger and a sprinkle of water until the potatoes start breaking up on the edges. It is eaten warm or at room temperature. The leaves are also eaten. They are really slimy! I love slime!

My grandmother used to grow taro. In the village where she was from, it was tradional not only to eat the taro root, but also the leaves and stalks of the plant, stewed.

I could probably handle taro. Mountain yam (name root?) is a bit much even for me, but I think a taro curry sounds delicious! ^-^

My grand parents were from Hilo , they grew rows of this stuff......my grandmother made poi on special occasions. My mother would fix it other ways first she would peel the root then boil it until it was soft. After it cooled she would slice it in flat pieces about 1/2 to 3/4 thick then fry it in bacon grease..I like it but like anything else you have to aquire tatses for certain things.

I adore this satoimo taro. This is an crucial ingredient in my grandmother's 'umani' which I understand from her is 'a more elaborate nishime.' I don't recall calling it satoimo though, I think we have a local-Japanese name for this. I was reviewing your list of other delightful slippery foods and it made me remember something I was reading about years ago. In a Buddhist vegetarian cookbook I came across something called 'junsai.' They described it as a sort of lily bud grown in ancient Kyoto ponds. I think this is another sort of slippery food but never had a chance to taste it as I can't find it here.

I haven't really had any problems with the sliminess thing. Maybe it depends on how it's cooked, I use taro in sticky rice and it's not slimy at all. And the satoimo in miso looks delicious! :-)

curious if you have any suggestions for japanese a few specific pickle recipes? I'm particularly fond of the yellow pickled radish, and the purple pickled cucumbers. I'm pretty sure the purple cucumbers have ume and shiso in them, as they taste of ume-shiso to me. I make plenty of traditional american and german pickles and fermented veggies, I'd love to be able to make these at home. You seem like the best resource I know of to find out about making these.

I read somewhere that some japanese people used to eat different imos instead of rice, and that(especially in some rural areas)some people still use it as an alternative. Timely post, what with the US's rice shortage and all.

The way my mom used to make it, she would just steam them in the rice cooker. Once cooked, we would just dipped them into sugar and eat them as a dessert. The slime really helps catch the sugar! They're delicious as a dessert - creamy and soft.

My grandfather grew a bunch of this stuff - my dad has since picked up the reins and ran with it. Samoans usually peel and cut it in manageable pieces, then boil it in coconut milk and onions. (It varies, of course) Nine times out of ten, I've always seen it in the same pot with green bananas. It's more or less treated as the starchy part of the meal.

(My relatives poke fun at me because I don't eat it. Being raised in Europe and the US has completely spoiled me!)

BTW - first visit to your blog, connected here via Rosa's Yummy Yums. Won't be the last visit, I assure you. :)

In Hawaii, we call this araimo and put it in our nishime. I plant Hawaiian kalo in my garden and when it's young it looks like araimo but takes much longer to cook.

Be careful with elephant ears. We call them ape and consider them inedible because of the high concentration of oxalic acid crystals that cause itchiness. I don't think that cooking will break those down.

Today I had natto with chazuke and takuan for lunch. Yum, yum! All I needed was some okra to complete the meal!

Thanks so much for the picture of the raw taro root! I moved to Japan in September, and I have been wondering what those little guys were. Same for the lotus root.

i leave in germany i want to buy a japanese product called
junsai i cannot find it in the japanese stores i looked on the internet do you know? where i can order this on line?
thanks

i bought taro today (gabi in Filipino language)and i cooked it with mixed beans and cubed pork (it was sooo good!). this recipe is a reminiscent of my summers in Mountain Province where there is abundance of taro. i was looking for more taro recipes when i stumbled upon your site. thanks for posting your recipes, i will surely try them ;-)

Taro is not slimy when it's cooked. It's slimy when you peel it only. I peel it and boil it in salted water, then eat it with butter. Yum! I also make mashed taro like you would make mashed potatoes. You can also put it chicken soup or make cream of taro soup with chicken stock, onion, garlic, salt and pepper, put in in the blender and add some mozzarella or any melting cheese for a very comforting soup.

I love taro and don't think its slimy at all! I was born in Cuba where taro-like roots such as ñame or guagui were popular and I was quite thrilled when I moved to Hawaii to find taro was so much like both those roots of my childhood.

How do you prepare taro for bubble tea? Can you even use fresh taro for this?

I bought one for the first time. not sure what I will do with it .. I bought mine at Albertsons store in the section where the fresh veggies are.

I like to buy the small taro root. The large ones are denser, I think.

Boil them in water (with the skins on) until they are tender. Drain and run under cool water. Let cool in the refrigerator.

Peel and dip into sugar and eat. It's very simple, tasty, fast, and filling. You have to dip after each bite.

I like to buy the small taro root. The large ones are denser, I think.

Boil them in water (with the skins on) until they are tender. Drain and run under cool water. Let cool in the refrigerator.

Peel and dip into sugar and eat. It's very simple, tasty, fast, and filling. You have to dip after each bite.

I live in Hawaii and have started to grow my own taro. I harvested a couple of plants last week, scrubbed, peeled, chopped, and steamed them. Then added a little olive oil and salt. They were so creamy with a very light taro flavor. Delicious and not slimy at all. Thanks for the recipe!

We use taro in the Philippines a lot to make what Westerners call "sour soup". I liked the fact that you noted that people have reactions to its "slime"... I unfortunately have a bad reaction to it so I usually wear gloves when I peel them. Other than that though, I love taro roots so don't get scared off coz of the slime ;)

I got a taro root bulb to use in a smoothie. Anyone have any advice or mixes to recommend? Did one with an avocado and it was great! Want to do something with hibiscus in the near future...

I see Taro at the Navy Commissary all the time and finally decided to learn how to cook it. Your website has been very helpful. I don't look for "slime" but find when when eating, I don't notice it...as in using nopales with summer squash and onions when I do the Cinco de Mayo party for a local group. Thanks. I'll buy taro on Friday when I shop again and try cooking it before peeling.

I lived in Japan for most of the 1960s and have a Japanese wife. I love taro simmered in a simple dashi and eat it often. It is a diabetic friendly starch because of its relatively low glycemic index.

Also I am a southerner and celebrate the sliminess of okra. Boiled is so much tastier than fried, and healthier!

I eat at Tai Tung Restaurant in Seattle-they often have little fried taro 'cakes' which are really good; I want to cook them. I believe I have read that taro has poison in it. Maybe that is why some people have a reaction. These posts and replies have helped me a lot. I must come back to this website often!

Hi Maki and fans - thanks for all the info. Two quick comments (mostly for people growing it).

Roots - satoimo roots are "daughter" cormlets that grow off of the main corm in the fall. They are still dormant, and have no "needles" until they start growing leaves the next spring. (So they can be cooked the way you say, no need for serious heat, handled with bare hands, etc. The main corm is like regular taro and has needles and needs much more cooking to get rid of the itch.) Satoimo (araimo in Hawaii) roots can be planted in a garden and grow just fine.

Leaves - satoimo leaves are delicious, as good as the very very best Hawaiian luau leaves. Cooking is a little tricky because of the needles. Salt will help neutralize them. Cooking in a pressure cooker for about 25 min, with a cup of water, will do it. Extra good with coconut milk and a few tomatoes.

I just wanted everyone to know, that today I had to peel taro root (not knowing it can cause itching) I did so under running water and after about the 9th taro, my hands started to itch so incredibly badly I could not bare it. I highly suggest wearing gloves when you deal with these It's not worth the risk.

I grew up in a household with Cuban parents and grandparents from Spain. My grandmother would cook taro regularly in two ways. She would make a cream soup out of it by pealing them and thinly slicing the taro, boiling them in chicken stock or milk and butter, and adding a little salt. She would puree it once soft. It is very southing for the stomach. My favorite way is making fritters out of them. Pealed and finely grated, a little salt, and spoon droping them into hot oil. They called Taro - Malanga. Almost always available in Cuban markets.

Your site is very informative, I am so glad to find it! We are relocating from Oregon to The Big Island of Hawaii later this year and I am very interested in the traditional/native preparation of the local foods. I can't wait to try making and eating poi. I really like trying new stuff anyway. Thanks for the great information.

I love Tao Root. Wash in running water using a brush, boil, put in cool water . Peel and grate. Add green onions, a small amount of ground carrots (for color) fry adding salt and pepper. You can put your own taste in them with spice.

"Whereas in the American South okra is battered and coated and deep-fried to minimize the slime as much as possible..."

In the South, the indigenous African-American population eats okra (we call it gombo) as is, without frying it in most cases. In the rare cases that we do fry it, it represents an exception, and definitely not the rule. We usually eat okra in stews we call gombo.

Whites in the south tend to fry okra, because okra is not native to their diet, but a food they adopted from the indigenous African-American population who also introduced deep-frying to the White population. Because it minimized the "slime factor", whites preferred their okra deep-fried.

So the idea of people in the south preferring the okra battered and fried is somewhat false. You're referring to a specific group who adopted the okra from the indigenous African-American population.

Taro was eaten in the South as well by the indigenous African-American population, and it was also widely-cultivated as a crop. But a mass hurricane in I believe the early 1900s wiped out the crops. My grandmother knew Taro well, but I did not. So when I saw it in a store, I jumped at the chance to purchase it. I'll incorporate it into my stews, hopefully.

Just awesome instructions! Surely will try to cook by myself this time.

I realised that one of the most appealing points in Japanese cuisine is the sliminess, at least for me. I am going to make some satoimo today, plus sake-kasu marinaded white fish and miso soup, kimuchi and some shiso infused shoyu. Cannot wait.

You can also find "taro" at Portuguese specialty shops, but in Portuguese we call them "inhames." I'm not sure how expensive they are because I've never had to buy them. My grandmother, and father in law grow them. Also, be sure to never eat raw taro since some claim a certain dosage of it can make you sick.

About how long does taro root last? I've had it for quite a few weeks and never got around to making it... I also had it in the fridge, just found out I wasn't supposed to store it that way! Oh well. Do you know how to tell if it has gone bad?

Yum! I love Taro! I used to eat it all the time with Chinese preserved pork. I'm working on a school project where I'm collecting taro recipes. Come check it out at Taro Root Kitchen

Cooking taro root have been made great by this article. The recipe has really impressed me. Even though the cleaning process is a bit time consuming, I would love to try this recipe at home. Thanks a lot for sharing this recipe with us.