Yosenabe
寄せ鍋·(yo-seh-nah-beh)
Hare no Hi: Weekend Rituals & Family Tables
Sunday evening at the dining table, a portable burner hisses under a heavy Dutch oven, the dashi bubbling over napa cabbage and supermarket tofu. Forget the fussy recipes found online; you build this dish by systematically skimming the impurities, relying on a pristine golden ratio broth and a quick blanch of the proteins to keep the soup crystal clear. The broth reduces, the cabbage collapses, and the windows fog up.
Before you start
Organize your ingredients before you start.
Hot pot moves fast once the water boils. Have all your vegetables chopped, proteins blanched, and sauces measured out on platters before you ever turn on the heat for the main pot.
Ingredients
- water4 cup
- dried kombu2 med
- katsuobushi5 g
- Japanese soy sauce4 tbsp
- mirin4 tbsp
- kosher salt1/2 tsp
- Napa cabbage1/2 med
- leek1 large
- spinach1 bunch
- shiitake mushrooms5 oz
- enoki mushrooms5 oz
- medium-firm tofu14 oz
- glass noodles3 oz
- boneless skin-on chicken thighs1 lb
- Pacific cod fillet3/4 lb
- raw shrimp8 large
- cooked white rice1 cup
- egg1 large
- scallions1 small
Method
- 01
Blanch the proteins to ensure a pristine broth.
Bring a separate medium pot of water to a rolling boil. Drop in the chicken pieces for exactly 15 seconds until the outside turns white, then scoop them out with a slotted spoon. Repeat this quick blanching process with the cod and the shrimp, then discard the boiling water. This technique locks in juices and removes surface impurities so your final hot pot won't taste muddy.
- 02
Build the foundational weeknight dashi.
In a donabe or wide Dutch oven, combine the cold water, kombu, thick white cabbage cores, leeks, and the blanched chicken. Submerge the tea bag full of bonito flakes directly into the water alongside the ingredients.
- 03
Simmer and season the golden ratio broth.
Place the pot over medium-high heat. The moment it reaches a gentle boil, use tongs to remove and discard the kombu before it turns the broth bitter. Let the pot simmer for 3 to 4 minutes to extract the bonito flavor, then use chopsticks to squeeze every drop of flavor out of the tea bag against the side of the pot before discarding it. Stir in the soy sauce, mirin, and salt.
- 04
Assemble the hot pot.
Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Arrange the tofu, shiitake, enoki, glass noodles, blanched cod, and blanched shrimp in neat, distinct sections around the pot. Cover and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
- 05
Wilt the greens and serve.
Lay the leafy green parts of the Napa cabbage and the spinach over the top of the simmering pot. Cover for 2 minutes just until they wilt into the broth, then carefully transfer the pot to the center of the dining table and serve immediately into individual bowls.
- 06
Finish the meal with the shime.
When the meat and vegetables are gone, do not discard the remaining liquid. Return the pot to a simmer, add the cooked white rice, and let it absorb the rich, concentrated umami broth. Turn off the heat, swirl in the beaten egg, cover for 30 seconds, garnish with chopped scallions, and serve.
Notes
Use a portable burner if you have one.
While cooking entirely on the stove is fine for a weeknight, true hot pot magic happens when you place a portable butane burner in the center of the table and let people serve themselves as it bubbles.
The shime is the whole point.
The final rice porridge course isn't an afterthought; for many Japanese families, the deeply concentrated leftover broth is the best part of the meal and the very reason the hot pot was eaten in the first place.
From Cook Japanese in America.