Do you feel hungrier lately? Maybe it’s the changing of the seasons, but the Japanese do call autumn “shokuyoku no aki” (‘the season of good appetites’) for a reason. While my own stomach growls, I thought I’d explore a fall food tradition in Japan that is both frugal and very yummy.
The dish in question is “nabemono,” or hot-pot dishes. Most people are familiar with some of the more famous nabe, including sukiyaki or shabu-shabu. However, despite what Japanese supermarkets want you to think, you don’t need a lot of special ingredients to make good nabemono, or to eat them almost every day.
In our house, nabe are fixed very simply — the soup in the pot is usually a package of instant dashi (or homemade, if we’re feeling finicky), plus a half ladleful each of mirin and soy sauce. You can vary the seasonings for different kinds of nabe, but frankly — this base works almost every time.
Then ingredients are equally simple: ample portions of whatever vegetables are in the refrigerator, a meat or fish of some sort, and an extra. Almost any vegetable will work in nabe, though some need to be cooked longer than others. Root vegetables and thicker cabbage slices should be put in the pot first, followed by mushrooms and finally leafy vegetables last. All different kinds of fish can be used, even ‘ara,’ or the head and trimmings of the fish, if you’re feeling adventurous. The fish or fish products (fish balls, etc) can be added together with the root vegetables to give the soup flavor.
Meat can be simmered in chunks with root vegetables, or cooked shabu-shabu style while eating if you have thick slices. Both pork and beef make a nice shabu-shabu style nabe. Finally, the extra: this can be anything from regular tofu, fried tofu (agedofu) cut in squares, fish or chicken balls, or some kind of clear noodle like shirataki or harusame. The key to avoid overcooking is to leave the leafy vegetables for last! For the dipping sauce, we usually choose something simple like store-bought ponzu (a sour soy-based sauce) or sesame-flavored sauce.
Finally, after you’ve eaten most of the vegetables and meat, you might try adding frozen udon or leftover rice with one beaten egg to the soup. Let this simmer, and you have a great end to you meal.
Nabemono are great party foods, family foods, or even last-minute foods, as preparation time is very short. Just slice the vegetables, season the soup, and basically you’re done! I also find nabemono very frugal, as the variety of ingredients you can put in a simple nabe means you can make a good use of bargains. Finally, nabemono are very healthy — tons of vegetables, very little meat, and it’s home-cooked.