More Japanese Soups and One-pot Meals

O-Nabe
Winter One-Pot Soup
Serves 4

This is a great winter party meal, as guests can add their own food and cook it in front of them in the hot-pot.

There are many varieties of o-nabe, and this dish allows for much substitution of ingredients. Try the recipe below, and then experiment and create your own! The keys to a successful o-nabe are, 1. Do not overcook the vegetables or allow the tofu to boil, 2. Use ingredients that will not spread around in the broth. For example, Chinese cabbage cut in such a way that each serving stays together in one clump is more desirable than spinach leaves that will float about and likely overcook from being in the hot soup.

This meal is traditionally cooked on a gas burner or special electrical o-nabe pot in the middle of the dining table. Ingredients are added little by little, then they are taken out and eaten as they are cooked. An important point is to be sure to add the ingredients that take the longest time to cook first, then add the greens and tofu nearer to serving time. The greens are done when they are brightest in color. Mochi should be soft when eaten, but no so cooked that it has become liquidy.

The dish is more beautiful when it is served with each ingredient grouped together in the pot, so that there is a section of chicken, a section of tofu, greens, mushrooms, etc., with the leeks sprinkled about the top.

If you do not have a way to cook on the table, just cook it all on the stove, then carry the pot to the table for serving.

Each person is served a little dish of Ponzu sauce to dip their food into before eating.

Gather the following ingredients:

1 tbsp konbu dashi or bonito dashi
4 dried shiitake mushrooms (soak for 1 hour in about 1 quart of water before using. Use this water as your soup base.)
1 large chicken breast, or 2 thighs, boned and skinned and cut into 2X1 inch rectangles
½ daikon – peeled and sliced in ½ inch rounds
1 carrot – peeled and sliced lengthwise, then into 2 inch lengths
½ Chinese cabbage (Napa) – washed and sliced lengthwise, then into 2 inch lengths. Keep the cabbage in its natural shape (i.e. don’t separate the leaves.)
1 leek – washed and sliced diagonally into 1 inch lengths
8 oz shirataki (white noodle-like konnyaku tied in bundles) - rinse
1 block tofu – cut into 2”X1” pieces
Mochi – chopped into 1 inch squares
Ponzu sauce for dipping

In a large pot, add:

The rehydrated mushrooms and the soaking water.
Dashi powder, daikon slices.

Bring to a boil. When the daikon slices are soft, add:
Carrots

When carrots are nearly soft, add:
Chicken

When chicken is nearly done, add:
Shirataki and white part of the Chinese cabbage
Mochi

After about 1 minute, add:
The rest of the Chinese cabbage
Leek
Tofu

When leaves are bright in color, remove from the stove. Place in the center of the table. Serve into bowls, or let people serve themselves as they go.

Eat by first dipping each bite in Ponzu sauce.

Serve with a bowl of Japanese white rice.


Other O-Nabe varieties:

Use white fish pieces instead of chicken. Be careful not to overcook the fish. It should be added closer to the end of cooking, so as to be done when the vegetables are done.
Add kimchi to the soup base for a spicy flavor.
Use pork instead of chicken.
Another substitute for chicken could be meatballs made from ground chicken, ginger, and spring onions.
Small bok choy bundles can be used, as well as cabbage, and almost any of your favorite vegetables. When using broccoli, beware of the little florets overcooking and getting scattered in the soup, taking away from its esthetic beauty.



Beef and Daikon Soup

1 lb lean beef, thinly sliced, pounded, and cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
½ medium daikon radish – sliced into 1 ½ in thin rectangles
1 inch thinly sliced ginger
1 leek – thinly sliced on a diagonal slant
1 package harusame – soak in boiling water until tender, drain, and cut into 2 inch lengths
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp canola or corn oil
1 tsp dashi powder
1 tbsp sake
½ tbsp usukuchi soy sauce
3 cups water

Pour oils in a deep pan or wok, and sauté ginger, meat, and daikon.
When the meat turns light in color, add water and dashi powder.
Simmer.
Skim off any scum that comes to the surface during cooking
When daikon is soft, add harusame.
Add sake and soy sauce.
Just before serving, add the sliced leek.

Serve in deep bowls, with white rice on the side.



Although not technically a soup, Niku-Jaga is an easy, one-pot meal with a thin sauce. It is commonly eaten as a winter meal.

Niku Jaga
Japanese Beef Stew
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 lb lean beef – sliced very thin
2 medium potatoes
2 carrots
1 medium onion
1 tbsp corn or safflower oil
1 tsp dashi powder
2 tbsp mirin (sweet cooking sake)
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cooking sake
2 tbsp usukuchi soy sauce (or to taste)
water

Slice beef against the grain into 1/8” thick slices, about 1½”X1” in size. If the beef is a little tough, pound it to make it more tender.
Cut onion in half, and then each half into ¼” thick slices, from top to bottom, and from the core to the outside.
Chop potatoes and carrots into similar-sized chunks, about 1 inch in size.
Place oil in a large saucepan and sauté onions and beef until beef is a little bit white in color.
Add remaining ingredients. The amount of water to add should be just enough to almost cover the ingredients.
Bring to a boil, add soy sauce, and then simmer until liquid is reduced and becomes like a sauce, and vegetables are tender. About 15-20 minutes.
Serve in bowls.

If you don’t have mirin, then increase the brown sugar to 3 tbsp, and add 3 tbsp cooking sake.