Nabe is Japanese stew. I posted about it before when I had the
Nabe Party with my Chorus Club.But this was my first time to make Nabe by myself!
What's wonderful about Nabe is that whatever veggies or meat you like, you can put in!
I think the soup base flavor is the most important ingredient of Nabe. I chose a salt-chanko soup base. It's one part base and two parts water.
For my veggies and meat, I chose shredded pork, Chinese cabbage, carrots, and tofu.
Common ingredients include shitake mushrooms, inoki mushrooms, and long green onions.
Since I live alone, what I made is called Hitori-Nabe, meaning Nabe for One.
So all that on the cutting board fit into this pot!
I am not sure the "proper" way is to put stuff into the pot, but I chose to put the meat and carrots on the bottom and let the cabbage and tofu be on top.
My reasoning was that the carrots would cook thoroughly and be tender and the tofu would absorb all the flavor from the steam.
And finally, nabe is a STEW. So it should be cooked on low heat and simmered for a long period.
So after 20 minutes, I had dinner! AND IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!!!
My new winter dish is NABE! Next time, I am going to try a
kimchi soup base, which is Korean spicy pickled cabbage.
