Delicious Chicken Stew with Root Vegetables for New Year's

Rehydrate the shiitake mushrooms in lukewarm water, cut off the stems, and carve a decorative cross in the tops. Cut the lotus root into a decorative pattern. Peel the skin of the burdock root, cut diagonally, and rinse in water.

Carve the carrot slices into plum blossoms, and make decorative cuts to form the petals. They are still quite pretty without doing this.

Cut the konnyaku block into 5-mm thin strips, make a slit down the center, and flip one end through.

Combine all of the ingredients in a pot aside from the mirin, carrot, and plum blossom-shaped wheat gluten, and stew until you can easily poke a skewer through the vegetables. Add the mirin, carrots, and plum blossom-shaped wheat gluten, stew for 5 minutes until it produces a glaze, and it is done.

I made this for the osechi I served for New Year's 2013.