by Jen Ruhl
When the winter temperatures set in, I always look forward to enjoying one of my favorite Japanese foods - nabe! You may have tried sukiyaki, shabu-shabu, or chanko-nabe. These are kinds of Japanese stew, and they are all delicious!
Nabemono can be enjoyed in restaurants or in the comfort of your own home. If you order nabemono at a restaurant, a charcoal or gas burner will be brought to your table. Then, the wait-staff will place a pot of broth on the burner, and deliver a plate of ingredients to you. Once the broth is ready, you should add the ingredients yourself!
Depending on the type of nabemono you ordered, you will have a variety of vegetables, meats, and fish to put into the pot. The plate of ingredients will likely be quite large, but don't worry - you aren't meant to put it all in the pot at one time! Make sure you keep an eye on the pot, since some pieces will cook faster than others.
I prefer to make my own nabe. My husband and I like kimchi-nabe quite a lot, and it is a regular part of our winter diet (yes, we're aware that this is actually a Korean dish, but aren't most Japanese foods actually Chinese or Korean?) Nabemono is very convenient to make when guests are visiting, or even if you are living by yourself. This is because nabemono is so easy to prepare! All you need is a nabe pot and a few ingredients. You can use your gas stove if you don't have a portable burner.
So, if you like spicy warm stew, give this kimchi-nabe recipe a try. You need:
kimchi no moto (a red liquid that is mixed with water for the broth)
kimchi (pickled cabbage)
regular cabbage
udon
mushrooms (I use 2 varieties, shiitake and enokitake)
shirataki (yam noodles)
tofu
beef/pork slices
negi (green onion)
1. Add water and kimchi no moto to the pot (the instructions for proportions are on the label). Warm the pot first with low heat, and after a minute or so you can raise the flame to medium heat.
2. Prepare the ingredients - chop vegetables, etc.
3. When the water begins to bubble, add udon. You may want to give the udon a chance to cook before adding other ingredients!
4. Add the other ingredients as you like. Japanese usually assign places in the pot to each ingredient! Be careful because tofu, for example, cooks very quickly and so should be added last.
5. Enjoy!
6. Some people cook rice in the leftover broth. I have found that this is more appealing in other kinds of nabemono!