Terry Yamamoto has a famous son — chef Alan Wong — but she is famous in her own right, for her nishime, or Japanese vegetable stew.

She makes the dish regularly for Makiki Christian Church’s Festival of Thanksgiving, but skipped last year. Attendees greatly missed it, organizers said.

The nishime was back at this year’s event, held Saturday, although roughly half the usual quantity was made by Yamamoto, former Columbia Inn co-owner and DOE food service head Gene Kaneshiro, and a host of other volunteers.

One might think Yamamoto’s cooking skill inspired her famed son to launch his culinary career.

Not according to her.

“Alan gotta be a doctor,” Yamamoto said, following in the footsteps of her father and other family members. But after a childhood dental visit that involved blood, her son ruled out any career in the medical field. He told her he would become a lawyer instead, she said.

Then he got a job in a restaurant kitchen, saw all the men at work in the environment and found his new career path, she said.

Yamamoto attended cooking school in Japan to learn her skills and now shares them as she coaches other volunteers in how to properly cut and prepare vegetables for her nishime.

Her instructions are precise, for example: Daikon and carrots should be sliced with diagonal cuts that alternate in direction, both for appearance and to assure uniform cooking. Daikon is cooked with rice, which mellows its smell and harsh flavor.

Yamamoto has been a church member for 26 years and has cooked for the festival and other church events for some 20 years. She also teaches cooking classes on the first and third Tuesdays of each month.

The classes were first intended for Japanese speakers, but recently were opened to the English-language ministry of the church, Kaneshiro said.

Yamamoto speaks mostly Japanese, though translation is provided at the classes, said Kumi Ray, secretary for the church’s Japanese ministry.

Classes are 10 a.m. to about 12:30 p.m., cost $5 and include lunch. Call 594-8919.

Terry Yamamoto’s Nishime

• 1/2 block konnyaku
• 1 stalk gobo (burdock root), cut in bite-sized pieces or sliced diagonally
• 1-1/2 carrots, cut in bite-sized pieces or sliced diagonally
• 3 to 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 7 ounces dried konbu (seaweed)
• 1 small Korean daikon, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup uncooked rice
• 8 string beans or snap peas
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 (8-ounce) cans whole bamboo shoots, rinsed and cut in wedges
• 5 ounces frozen sliced renkon (lotus root), thawed and cut in fourths
• 1-1/2 pieces chikuwa (tubular grilled fishcake; Okuhara brand preferred)
• 1/2 bag frozen satoimo (Japanese taro), thawed and halved, 13 to 15 pieces

>> Sauce

• 2/3 teaspoon hondashi (powdered Japanese soup stock)
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons sake

Beat konnyaku with spatula or wooden spoon briefly to soften, then cut into bite-sized pieces, boil 3 minutes and drain.

Soak gobo in water, changing water until it is clear.

Soak carrots in water; drain. Boil with a pinch of salt for 3 minutes; drain and cool.

Soak shiitake in water until soft, squeeze out water and cut into fourths. Reserve soaking water.

Soak konbu in water until soft. Tie pieces in knots at 2-inch intervals, then cut into pieces between knots. Reserve soaking water.

Place daikon and rice in pot with just enough water to cover; bring to boil, then reduce heat and cook until daikon is half-done. Soak in cold water, then drain. Discard rice, which is cooked with daikon to mellow its smell and bitterness.

Blanch beans in boiling water, then soak in cold water; drain. Reserve for garnish.

Heat oil in pot. Add konbu, shiitake and 2 cups combined reserved seaweed and mushroom soaking liquid. Cook until konbu is soft, occasionally skimming surface.

Add gobo and konnyaku; cook 15 minutes. Add bamboo shoots and renkon; cook 15 minutes. Add daikon, carrots, chikuwa, satoimo and sauce ingredients; cook until liquid is reduced by half, stirring occasionally. Let cool.

Serve garnished with green beans. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional information, per serving (not including salt to taste): 500 calories, 4.5 g fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 25 mg cholesterol, greater than 2,500 mg sodium, 93 g carbohydrate, 24 g fiber, 20 g sugar, 15 g protein