Category — Soup Recipes

The other day when we went to Nijiya Market we were actually there to show our Tokyo friends a different market in case they ever wanted a change from Don Quixote by Ala Moana.

We thought we were there just to check out the place, little did we know they had a whole plan mapped out. At Nijiya Market they were picking up the ingredients to make us a great shabu shabu dinner that night!

After shopping and back at their place, the shabu shabu dashi was being prepared: One large piece of konbu (cut into 3 smaller pieces) simmered in a pot of water.

While that was going we had some drinks and tsukemono (Japanese pickles) to start off with.

Takuan

and Narazuke

During this time, the shabu shabu ingredients that were picked up at Nijiya Market were also being prepared.

Kobe style shabu shabu beef
Soft Tofu, cubed
Shirataki noodles, cut into 5-7 inch lengths
Green onions, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
Chinese cabbage, cut into 2-3 inch pieces
Enoki mushrooms, broken into smaller clusters
Shungiku (Chrysanthemum leaves), cut into 4-5 inch pieces

This is how it was all arranged on the platter.

Once it was dinner time, the konbu dashi was poured into an electric hot pot. Then a little of everything was added in to the hot broth.

To eat, we just grabbed from the pot and dipped the food into a little dish of ponzu sauce slightly diluted with konbu dashi water from the pot.

Here’s a piece of that Kobe style beef, it was so soft!

And some shirataki noodles with shungiku.

When all of the food in the pot was eaten, we’d add another round of meat and veggies into the hot pot. We did this about 3 or 4 times until everything on the platter was gone.

After that we turned up the hot pot to high and boiled down the dashi that now had lots of delicious flavors from the meat and vegetables. When the broth became more concentrated we added in a little shoyu, katsuo dashi, udon noodles and some green onions.

We emptied our ponzu sauce and used the bowl to have a helping of udon and soup. To the broth we also added some yuzu seasoning (tastes sort of like lemon, salt, and wasabi mixed together).

This is what the bottle looks like…

A little goes a long way with this. We used maybe 1/8 teaspoon for each bowl. But even with that little bit, it really makes a big difference brightening up the flavor!

This was so good, definitely the best nabe I’ve ever had!

If you remember back in early October I received a gift from Tokyo containing a donabe (Japanese clay pot). This week I finally got the ingredients together to cook some nabe in it!

For the broth I filled the pot with water, about two thirds of the way up. I put in about 4 sheets of dashi kombu and two packets of powdered dashi that I had in the cupboard.

After the dashi kombu finished simmiring, I’ll pulled it out and added Japanese long onions, carrots, the thick pieces of Chinese cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, and some wakame.

After those cooked a little while I added everything else in – thin slices of meat, tofu, konnyaku noodles, the rest of the Chinese cabbage, and Hamakua shimeji mushrooms.

My first experience making nabe with a donabe was fun and easy. The pot holds heat well and for a very long time. Usually after I turn the stove off the dish cools down pretty quickly. But this one was steaming hot even after second and third helpings!

Want more nabe?

Shabu Shabu Recipe
Miso Kimchi Soup v. Chanko Nabe
Miso Kimchi Soup: The Homemade Version

Back in June we received some omiyage from our friends visiting from Tokyo – Yum! We’ve already eaten all of the arare you see in the sakura package below. But it has taken me a while to think of something to make with that freeze dried tofu.

I’ve never cooked with it, or even tasted it before. But I thought I’d try it out in this wakame shiitake broth.
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I’ve been feeling a little under the weather the last couple days. Not bad enough to stop me from going out, but enough to make me feel tired and not as enthusiastic about food this week.

Perfect for a day like this is chicken soup. And here is a version that I particularly like. It uses squash and long rice noodles!
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You may remember that I made a miso kimchi soup about a month ago using a packaged soup broth. Call me cheap, but I really wanted to figure out how to make it at home without having to buy the broth.

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If you remember, the other week I picked up Chanko Nabe soup broth from the market to make a nice pot of soup. On this night I’m trying out the same thing but in a different flavor…Miso Kimchi Soup.
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The other night I tried out this Marusan Chanko Nabe Soup that was on sale at Don Quijote. Inside the bag is 1.7 lbs of tasty broth ready to cook up with all the vegetables, tofu, and meat that you want.
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Whenever I go to my favorite Chinese restaurant on a cold or rainy night, I always order Rainbow Tofu Soup. Here is my attempt to recreate this light and simple dish at home.
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