Japanese Yosenabe

For Yosenabe, ‘yose’ means gather up and ‘nabe’ means hotpot, in other words there are no particular rules or ingredients. Japan values its four seasons and the variety of Nature’s bounty each season offers. So a Spring Yosenabe, will have many different components to those of the other three seasons.

Meat, fish, tofu and/or vegetables are simmered in an earthenware or cast-iron pot in a simple kombu or katsuo dashi broth. Grated daikon, miso, soy milk or even kimchi may be added. The cooked ingredients are then dipped into garnishes, seasonings and dipping sauces and eaten very fresh.

To finish the meal, rice and eggs may be added to the broth to make ‘Zosui’, Japanese ‘risotto’ or any kind of noodles may be added to soak up the last goodness.