How to Make Yosenabe (Japanese Hot Pot)
By Cheryl Forberg
With fall around the corner and temperatures starting to drop, it’s time to start thinking about comforting soups and stews. This month, I’ve chosen a very simple recipe that will likely please most people because there are so many options for variation. There is a version for everyone! It’s a Japanese recipe called Yosenabe.
Yosenabe: The word yose (寄) means "putting together.” Nabe is a communal hot pot placed in the center of the dining table. The ingredients for this dish (a broth called dashi, mushrooms, leeks or green onion, various other vegetables and animal or vegetable protein, e.g., tofu) are combined in the hot pot and cooked together.
It is a remarkably simple but very hearty dish that lends itself well to using whatever you have on hand. Of course, if you do not have an authentic Japanese hot pot, you can cook it on the stove and serve it in dishes in the kitchen.
If you’re looking for a vegetarian recipe, you can use a vegetable broth instead of the dashi broth recipe below, which uses bonito (fish) flakes. You can also use edamame and/or tofu for your protein.
If you’re open to seafood, you can use fish or shellfish for the protein in this recipe.
And if you would rather choose chicken, pork or beef, you can do that too.
The vegetable choices are also very flexible. You can also choose to (or not to!) add a starch such as rice or noodles.
This is a dish you can truly make your own; and because of its simplicity, I hope you’ll make it again and again.
Yosenabe (Japanese Hot Pot)
Yield: Serves two as a main course or four as an appetizer
Ingredients
For the Dashi/Broth:
4 cups water
2 teaspoons Hondashi*
1 teaspoon white or yellow miso paste
3 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
Vegetables:
½ cup thinly sliced green onion or leek
½ cup fine julienne or decoratively cut carrot slices
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (brown, shiitake, enoki etc.)
1 cup thinly sliced Bok Choy or Napa cabbage or spinach.
Protein:
1 cup extra firm tofu, diced.
And/or 8 ounces thinly sliced pork or beef or chicken
And/or 8 large raw shrimp or small chunks of fish
Optional: cooked udon noodles or steamed rice
Garnishes: Thinly sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, ponzu or soy sauce
*Hondashi is an Asian ingredient used to make a quick Dashi/broth. It contains bonito fish, salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), lactose, sugar, and dried bonito tuna flakes. It is available on Amazon, in Asian markets and in the ethnic foods section of some grocery and/or health food stores.
Preparation
Prepare the Broth: In a Dutch oven or large saucepan, add the water to the pan and sprinkle in the Hondashi powder and whisk it into the water. Turn heat up to medium high. Add the miso paste and whisk into hot water. Add sake, soy sauce and mirin and whisk together. (To prepare the broth in advance, you can turn off the heat at this point and cover. If you would like to serve your Yosenabe with added starch, this would be a good time to prepare steamed rice or udon noodles to serve with your hot pot.
Place your cut vegetables and protein in separate small bowls near the hot pot. Most of the ingredients will cook very quickly so you want to have everything else ready (rice or noodles if using), serving bowls etc.
Bring the dashi to a low simmer. If you are adept with chopsticks, the authentic way of adding items to the broth uses chopsticks. They are used for stirring as well. But you can certainly use tongs or even a large spoon if you prefer. A large ladle will be handy for serving.
If you have large shrimp, you may want to add them to the pot first. Alternatively, you could add chicken, beef, or pork first. You may want to skim the broth of any bubbles after the proteins begin to cook.
Next you can add your vegetables, stirring as you go. This will literally take minutes to make. If you would like to use starch such as rice or noodles, you can place that in the serving bowls first. Then, using chopsticks or tongs, arrange vegetables and proteins in each bowl and ladle the broth over. Garnish and serve hot.
Yosenabe: The word yose (寄) means "putting together.” Nabe is a communal hot pot placed in the center of the dining table. The ingredients for this dish (a broth called dashi, mushrooms, leeks or green onion, various other vegetables and animal or vegetable protein, e.g., tofu) are combined in the hot pot and cooked together.
It is a remarkably simple but very hearty dish that lends itself well to using whatever you have on hand. Of course, if you do not have an authentic Japanese hot pot, you can cook it on the stove and serve it in dishes in the kitchen.
If you’re looking for a vegetarian recipe, you can use a vegetable broth instead of the dashi broth recipe below, which uses bonito (fish) flakes. You can also use edamame and/or tofu for your protein.
If you’re open to seafood, you can use fish or shellfish for the protein in this recipe.
And if you would rather choose chicken, pork or beef, you can do that too.
The vegetable choices are also very flexible. You can also choose to (or not to!) add a starch such as rice or noodles.
This is a dish you can truly make your own; and because of its simplicity, I hope you’ll make it again and again.
Yosenabe (Japanese Hot Pot)
Yield: Serves two as a main course or four as an appetizer
For the Dashi/Broth:
4 cups water
2 teaspoons Hondashi*
1 teaspoon white or yellow miso paste
3 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
Vegetables:
½ cup thinly sliced green onion or leek
½ cup fine julienne or decoratively cut carrot slices
1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms (brown, shiitake, enoki etc.)
1 cup thinly sliced Bok Choy or Napa cabbage or spinach.
Protein:
1 cup extra firm tofu, diced.
And/or 8 ounces thinly sliced pork or beef or chicken
And/or 8 large raw shrimp or small chunks of fish
Optional: cooked udon noodles or steamed rice
Garnishes: Thinly sliced green onions, toasted sesame seeds, ponzu or soy sauce
*Hondashi is an Asian ingredient used to make a quick Dashi/broth. It contains bonito fish, salt, monosodium glutamate (MSG), lactose, sugar, and dried bonito tuna flakes. It is available on Amazon, in Asian markets and in the ethnic foods section of some grocery and/or health food stores.
Preparation
