Ginger Amazake Hot Pot

Amazake Nabe

Ginger Amazake Nabe – a healthy and delicious donabe hot pot recipe and it’s one of my favorite hot pot dishes of the season to bring comfort and keep me warm! Hope you get to try it home. Feel free to substitute chicken with just vegetables or seafood, to make it your own way.

Vegan option

Use kombu dashi or kombu & shiitake dashi. Omit chicken and add more tofu/ mushrooms/ vegetables of your choice

Equipment

Classic-style Donabe (2.5-qt/ 2,500 ml or larger)

Servings

2 - 3

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (600 ml) dashi
2 tablespoons sake
1 teaspoon moshio sea salt (or regular sea salt)
4 – 5 leaves medium napa cabbage, cut into bite-size pieces
8 oz (220 g) satsuma-imo (Japanese sweet potato) cut into bite-size pieces
12 oz (360 g) boneless skinless chicken thigh, cut into bite-size pieces (and lightly season with some sea salt
for 2 – 3 hrs if possible)
2 tablespoons miso
1 T ginger, cut into fine shreds
7 oz (200 g) medium-firm tofu, cut into 6 – 8 pieces
5 oz (150 g) shimeji mushrooms (I used white shimeji)
1/3 cup (80 ml) amazake
3 oz (100 g) komatsuna (Japanese spinach) or your choice of leafy vegetable, cut into bite-size pieces
Thinly-shredded yuzu citrus rind, optional
Kanzuri (fermented chili & yuzu paste from Niigata, Japan), for serving (optional)

Procedure

Heat the dashi in a donabe over medium-high heat. Add the sake and salt. Add the bottom half of the napa cabbage, satsuma-imo, and chicken. Cover with lid and bring to a simmer. Simmer for a few minutes.
Add the miso, ginger, and stir. Add the remainder of the napa cabbage, tofu, shimeji, and cover with lid again. Simmer for a few minutes.
Add the amazake and stir. Add the komatsuna and yuzu. Let the komatsuna wilt.
Serve right at the table into individual bowls. Enjoy with a little dab of Kanzuri on the side, if you like.

With the saved broth, I like adding enough cooked rice and heat in it until smooth. Finish with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano and black pepper. Noodles are also good, too!