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View Full Version : It's Nabe Time!



Earl Hartman
24th November 2003, 20:06
Well, it's winter now, and that means only one thing:

Nabe!

For a basic nabe: (I'm not going to give ingredient measurements, since, [except for the pot] it's all a matter of individual taste)

One big donabe pot (available in any good Japanese store)
Momen (firm) tofu, each block cut in quarters or a little smaller (the tofu should be in big chunks, not in little peices like in miso soup)
Hakusai (Napa cabbage), the head halved vertically and then cut horizonatally in about 1" to 2" pieces
Large fresh shiitake caps (not dried), cut in half
Shungiku (spring crysanthemum leaves)
Naganegi (Japanese green onions. NOT the regular Western green onions. Japanese green onions are usually about two feet long and about 3/4" thick; they look rather like long slender leeks and have a much sweeter, more delicate flavor than regular green onions)
One large square of konbu
Any combination of fish fillets (salmon, cod, halibut, sea bass etc.; the fattier the better; I prefer salmon or cod)
Shellfish if desired (clams and shrimp are most common; I would avoid oysters, too strongly flavored)

For the dipping sauce:

Lemon rounds and lemon juice (yuzu is better if you can get it; some people use rice vinegar instead of citrus, although I prefer the citrus juice)
Soy sauce
Shichimi togarashi (powdered chili pepper spice)

Rinse the konbu and place in the bottom of the nabe. Fill the nabe about 1/3 to 1/2 full of water. Put the fish fillets in the nabe and bring to a gentle boil. Skim any scum that rises. Put in the tofu and let it heat through. Put in the shiitake and hakusai. Boil until the hakusai just wilts. Last, add the negi and at the very end add the shungiku. When the shungiku wilts and is heated through, and the clams (if using) have popped open, the nabe is ready.

Each diner should have an individual bowl and a small ladle. In the bowl, place a lemon round, some lemon juic and soy sace, and then dilute to taste with broth from the pot. Add chili powder to taste.

Using your ladle, take what you want from the nabe and place it in the bowl to flavor it with the dipping broth.

Gobble away with appropriate slurping noises and loud puffing and blowing to cool the food, always taking care to say "Hot! HOT!!" when you eat a chunk of tofu. (Seriously, be careful with the tofu. If you swallow a large piece of it without chewing, you will be uncomforably surprised to discover just how well a large chunk of tofu retains heat even if the surface is cool.)

Once all the food is gone, be sure to drink the broth.

Important points:

The vegetables should be cooked but still crunchy. Do not let the negi or the shungiku lose their color.

If posiible, the nabe should be cooked on a hot plate in the center of the table, with extra ingredients available to add as desired.

Keep the heat on the nabe throughout the dinner. It should always be bubbling.

If you've got a kotatsu, eat the nabe at the kotatsu.

Needless to say, copious amounts of beer or hot sake won't hurt.

Have rice and tsukemono available.

The perfect desert after a nabe is a nice cold Satsuma mikan or three.

Remmember, this is just a basic recipe. You an add all sorts of things to a nabe: chicken or fish meatballs, chicken pieces, any kind of mushroom (maidake are especially good) etc.

Hmmmm....getting hungry....

Tea Guy
25th November 2003, 01:33
I love nabe. That's probably my favorite part of winter.
Problem is....I don't have a nice nabe (the actual pot). Oh well. Yet another thing to save up for!
Something I like to do for presentation is to make hakusai rolls. Very simple. You parboil some hakusai leaves briefly (just until softened a bit), then place a few overlapping and roll them up (tightly) and remove the excess moisture. You then cut the large roll into smaller managable rolls. It looks really nice if you do it right. Of course, if I really have time I like to cut the carrots into flower shapes before I cook the meal (I don't think there's anything wrong with liking to use my knives as much as possible).

As for those maitake......I sure wish I could get some here! I've still got to find out if they sell enokitake around here (I just recently moved and thus have no idea what's available in the area). Hm, actually, enokitake go well in nabe!

Well, good idea bring up nabe, Earl! Well, off to my kitchen.....

C.Sieg

BigJon
25th November 2003, 04:11
Ok Im getting hungry too! This is the first time I have heard of Nabe...but I like what I am reading. Can you tell us more about the pot, and some of the other ingredients..(Hakusai and Shungiko especially..)-First time Japanese Style cook here.:)

Tea Guy
25th November 2003, 05:37
You have developed an interest in Japanese food? That's good. We need more people like you. Well, I shall help cultivate your interest then.

Well, nabe means pot. The type of nabe that I was speaking of was a donabe, which is an earthenware pot that it glazed on the inside.
Hakusai is a very mild flavored cabbage often called "Napa cabbage" in the US. It's somewhat cylindrical in shape, compared to the typical Western round cabbage, and is white towards the base and light green towards the top. It's used in many dishes including simmered dishes, stirfried dishes, and pickles (and not only in Japanese cuisine.)
Shungiku is edible chrysanthemum leaves. They work well in nabemono and other dishes like ohitashi.
Enokitake are a type of mushroom. This pale yellow mushroom grows in clumps of long, thin "needles" with small caps. The taste...has a bit of a crisp bite. It's not easily explained, but it's tasty.
Konbu is a type of Japanese kelp, often used in dashi (stock), to marinate things, simmered dishes, etc.

Ah....any other ingredients, techniques, etc. that you want to know about? Feel free to ask.

C.Sieg

BigJon
25th November 2003, 14:32
Well living on the east coast, close to Washington D.C., I should be able to find a Japanese grocery...maybe even one closer to me...I need to look around.