NABEMONO or NABE One Pot Cooking
Updated: Apr 18
How to make a one pot stew or "Hot Pot" meal using just vegetables, rice and
noodles. Nabe Mono, as is called in Japan, translates to "pot thing" or things in a pot. There are so many variations to this wonderful dish, it is endless to the different ingredients you can use, making it new every time. It is considered one of the most versatile home-cooked dishes and social party food. It can be cooked at the center of the table with a cooking component. Enjoy yourself with your friends and family surrounded by the table with all the ingredients raw and cooked to go into the pot, so much fun. This is such a social time to share conversation and expression because you are ALL eating from the same pot, it makes for easier mingling, talking, Nabe Pot and enjoying each other; as a great social gathering and dinner party.
How to Prepare Nabe / Nabe Mono
Gather the ingredients you plan to use, include an assortment of vegetables, tofu, and noodles, or serve over rice. I made a video posted on You Tube with Sheri Di Maris on Nabe Cooking, where we demonstrated how to use a variety of ingredients. It was outside at a winery and we both had wind-blown hair.
Many chefs make Dashi broth first as the foundation liquid base to the Nabe. This can be achieved by using a combination of Kombu Kelp Sea vegetable and Bonita flakes. Variations of Kombu Dashi recipes will be included, including suggestions for vegans who do not want to use the fish flakes. This Nabe recipe can be for two to four people, depending on if you want to have leftovers.
Kombu Dashi
There is so much information about the new 100+year taste Umani, which is the fifth taste, created through making Dashi, the broth using kombu and katsu Bushi. I won't spend too much time on Umani because there is so much information on the internet about this savory taste. You can take the time to learn all about it. When I worked with Sensei N. Muramoto, he claimed there is another taste, a sixth taste, a combination of green tea and dried persimmons. I did experience this taste and I agree it is a taste I have never tasted before and nothing quite like it. Back on the subject, this flavor and taste of umami is fundamental as a base to so many dishes.
It is a simple broth to make yet very exact in the preparation. It is important to follow the guidelines accordingly.
Clockwise: Tofu, Napa Cabbage, Soy Sauce, Dried Shitake Mushrooms (Dongo), Carrots. Green Onions, Daikon Radish, Peeled Fresh Ginger, Dried Kombu, Udon Noodles
List of Ingredients
Four cups water or Dashi broth
Two inches Kombu piece
Two carrots (optional peeled)
One cup of napa cabbage or any cabbage
Four inches daikon radish
6 Shitake dry mushrooms