You cannot imagine its slippery nature, it almost attacks you when you cut into the flesh. Nagaimo is a fascinating long potato (it grows up to 1+ meters), and is referred to as Japanese mountain yam.

Some chefs experience itching when handling Nagaimo due to an allergic reaction, and some chefs in order to prevent itching soak the Nagaimo in vinegar water before cooking. When cooking it, remember too much heat can lessen the nutritional value by impacting the digestive enzyme amylase found in Nagaimo. Either way, eat it raw, thin slices, or grate it as this is the best way to enjoy it.

A simple recipe is: use miso, shoyu and dashi, reduce the miso into the dashi and cool it down, and then add it to the grated yam-it is perfect!