imobo (Dish of boiled shrimp-shaped potato and dried cod. A famous local cuisine of Kyoto.) (芋棒)
As famous cuisine of Kyoto, imobou is a local specialty of Kyoto City.
Summary
It is a cooked mixture of shrimp-shaped potato with dried cod. The Kyoto vegetable shrimp-shaped potato is a kind of taro. It originated from the Chinese potato planted in Kyushu brought to Kyoto during the mid Edo Period. The dried cod (pacific cod) was an item presented to the Imperial Court in the past..
How to make
Peeled shrimp-shaped potatoes mixed with dried cod softened beforehand (after 7 to 10 days) are simmered for at least 1 day.
The potato boils and softens easily, but the dried cod is not easily cooked through; so, usually they are not put together to boil. However, the ingredients that seep out of the dried cod covers up the shrimp-shaped potato preventing it from becoming mushy; at the same time, the juices that from the shrimp-shaped potato softens the dried cod.