just-dug-potatoes feast - spring rolls, etc.

When I say these puppies were fresh, I mean fresh (as in, just dug up five minutes before cooking)! Check out our adventures digging them up (potato harvesting in Japanese is called imo hori).

If you're drooling to know how my friends made these amazing (and the best I've ever had) harumaki (spring rolls), then read on, my friends...


Start by gathering the potatoes from the garden plot and these verdant, fresh-tasting shiso (perilla) leaves from a plant on your balcony.




Best when working as a team with hubby. Get your gaijin friend (aka Mamatouille) to wash the potatoes (see, I did help!), julienne those freshly washed and unpeeled spuds (the skin was very thin and fresh so didn't need any peeling), and saute the potatoes and some enoki (long, white, thin) mushrooms in sesame oil till all is tender, then sprinkle some salt over and let it cool a bit.


Employ the gaijin friend again to (gently and carefully) peel apart/separate all the spring-roll papers, then lay a shiso leaf on one, and cover that with a bit of the potato/mushroom saute.


Use a flour/water mixture to rub on and seal the edges after rolling each one up, then fry in hot oil till brown and crispy.



Dip in a mixture of soy sauce and hot Japanese mustard (karashi), and serve alongside a roasted dish of those new potatoes, chicken legs, rosemary, onions, and some celery leaves and spices. Yum!