Keep Warm This Winter With A Japanese Hotpot (Nabe)

Having lived in Japan for no less than 8 years, I am quite accustomed to living in badly constructed houses, with paper thin walls and zero insulation. It comes as no surprise then that I also have experience of dealing with the harsh winter cold by gathering friends together, sitting with the kotatsu wrapped up around me, and sharing nice Japanese Nabe (which means a hotpot).

Kotatsu?

A Kotatsu is pretty much required to live in Japan. It’s a heated table, and you lay a large futon underneath the table top, so you can pull it over yourself and keep toasty inside the warm goodness it provides. People have been known to fall asleep under the kotatsu, it’s feel so good; and cats often hide there too. Before you even consider staying in Japan for the winter, you must get a kotatsu. This is not an option, it is a legal requirement (not really, but anyway).

Nabe?

Yes, Nabe! The Japanese hotpot, and daily essential for anyone living in Japan. Generally eaten either as a family, or as an excuse to gather your friends round. Incredibly easy to make, and oh so delicious and warming.

Ingredients:

You WILL need to raid the local Asian food supermarkets for this one, there is no way around that.

- A pack of Kimchee, and some additional Kimchee sauce depending on how spicy you want it

- Thinly sliced pork

- Enogi mushrooms (long and thing, they come as a bunch)

- Shiitake mushrooms

- 1 or 2 Leeks

- Your favourite kind of Tofu

- Your favourite kind of noodles

- Chinese cabbage

- Pretty much anything else you like the look of

- Japanese dashi (fish stock) if you like it

As you can see, the ingredients are not really set in stone. It’s more like a follow your heart kind of thing. Personally, I also like to add in some meatballs, and small Chinese dumplings!

Preparation:

You’ll need a casserole dish to prepare this, the larger the better. Traditionally you cook it at the table in front of everyone, but if you don’t have a portable stove this might be a little impractical. Fill the dish half full of water and kimchee, and as much kimchee sauce as you like.

The only preparation you really need to do is cut the bottoms of the Enogi mushrooms and wash, as well as cut the vegetables however you like.

Once the water is boiled, throw everything except the noodles in, and cook. Once the meat looks done, start spooning out the good stuff into bowls and serve!

The noodles are a final step, after all the other vegetables have eaten. Noodles tend to soak up the juice, so you use them to finish the Nabe off, as it were.

By: James A Bruce

About the Author:

Coupon Organizer