Onabe is a Japanese hot pot rich in dashi (broth), vegetables, and protein. It reminds me of the times when my family, friends and I surrounded the big pot of onabe on cold days, warming up our bodies and our souls.
The beauty of this dish is that you can add many different types of ingredients to this dish and can be enjoyed with a variety of different types of sauces (ponzu, miso, kimchi, etc.). I included some of my favorite vegan ingredients I often use for this dish. I often enjoy making this dish in the fall and winter seasons. This recipe uses ingredients that are in season during the fall or winter months. Many Japanese dishes respect and incorporate what is in season to fully savor the best time to eat them. Traditionally, the dish includes meat and fish but I believe that this recipe is delicious even without the animal products, possibly even better!
Ingredients I often use for this dish:
Tofu - I often use soft tofu for this dish but any type of tofu you prefer works. Although I use soft tofu because I love the texture of it, many people use medium-firm tofu for this dish because soft tofu can break easily in the pot. Tofu is high in protein and has many nutrients essential to your diet.
Napa Cabbage - In my household, the napa cabbage was often the main bulk of the dish. At first, it may seem like one fourth of a napa cabbage a lot but does shrink in size.
Carrots - I don’t always put carrots in my onabe but it does give more color and nutrients to the dish. Cutting them with a cookie cutter into flower shapes definitely brightens up my meal.
Mushrooms - Many types of mushrooms can be used for this dish. I love mushrooms in my onabe, especially shiitake, shimeji, enoki, and king oyster mushrooms. Mushrooms also add to the depth in the broth in addition to the kombu and vegetables.
Daikon radish - This radish is used in many Japanese dishes. Raw and cooked daikon is widely used in asian countries to treat illness. It has a quality of making the body feel warmer when consuming it. I love the combination of the cooked daikon radish and ponzu sauce in this dish.
Green onions
Chinese chives
Glass noodles - The other ingredients, mostly vegetables, are pretty filling but if you want to make it a little more filling can be done by adding glass noodles. I like the thin bean starch vermicelli for onabe.
Vegetable/kombu broth or Kombu Seaweed - If you can get your hands on kombu seaweed, this makes the dish even better with the depth of umami and flavor it seeps into it. Dried kombu seaweed is sometimes expensive to get at my local Japanese store so I often use the kombu or vegetable powdered broth insead. But I highly recommend trying it with the kombu seaweed sheet in the dish if you can.
Ponzu - Ponzu is a sauce to this dish that gives it savoriness. It is traditionally made from mentsuyu (soup concentrate made with soy sauce) and yuzu citrus. Premade ponzu can be bought at many asian stores and sometimes at local supermarkets in the US. However, in many cases, these pre-made ponzu include many preservatives and unwanted ingredients. At the end of the recipe is how I make homemade ponzu. I often use lemon or lime instead of yuzu citrus because it is difficult to find or expensive in my local asian stores.
Although I do give specific amounts and measurements of how much of each ingredient should be added, this dish can be altered to what you have in hand and how many servings you want. The great thing is that you don’t need to worry too much and just make sure all ingredients are mostly covered by the broth and it is all good.
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Ingredients:
½ block of tofu (about 200g)
¼ napa cabbage head
1 carrot
1 cup of mushroom or a variety of mushrooms (shiitake, enoki, shimeji, eringi, or etc.)
2 cups daikon (about 300g)
2 stalks green onions
1 bunch Chinese chives
1 handful Glass noodles
Two broth options: 6 cups of vegetable broth or kombu/vegan broth OR 6 cups of water
1 sheet of kombu or 1 pack of kombu powdered broth
(Optional) Ponzu sauce:
3 tbsp mentsuyu (3 part soy sauce, 2 part Mirin, 1 part Sake, kombu dashi, and shiitake mushroom)
1 tbsp yuzu citrus or lemon
1 tsp sweetener (e.g. maple syrup)
Instructions:
1. Wash and cut all vegetables and mushrooms to appropriate sizes (also shown in photo). Cut tofu in half or into four pieces.
2. Pour vegetable broth, vegan/kombu broth, or water and kombu powder into a large pot.
If and when getting out broth with dried kombu sheet, combine water and a sheet of kombu in a large pot and heat up and remove kombu before it boils to prevent kombu from melting.
3. On medium heat, add the ingredients that take longer to cook into the pot. Ingredients include: white part of napa cabbage, carrots, daikon, tofu, and mushrooms. And cover with a lid.
4. Bring to a boil and add glass noodles, chinese chives, green onions, and the leafy green parts of the napa cabbage. Cover with a lid until ingredients are cooked through.
5. Serve while hot in individual bowls. Add a tablespoon or so to taste of sauces like ponzu, mentsuyu, miso or a bit of kimchi for a kick. Enjoy throughout the year but especially on cold days~
To make ponzu sauce: Just mix mentsuyu, yuzu citrus or lemon juice, and sweetener (e.g. maple syrup). And one of my favorite sauces/dressing is done just like that! To make mentsuyu:
1. Combine 3 part soy sauce, 2 part Mirin, and 1 part Sake into a pot over medium high heat.
2. Also add one sheet of kombu and 1 - 3 shiitake mushrooms. 3. Let the mixture boil for 5 minutes to boil out the alcohol. 4. Turn off the heat and take out the shiitake mushrooms and kombu.
5. It is ready to use right away. Store in the refrigerator when cooled.
*When using this mentsuyu for other purposes like for eating udon or soba noodles, it is usually diluted 1 to 3 parts with water. This mentsuyu recipe is a concentrated version, perfect for adding with the broth from the nabe hot pot that does not have any salt. Please let me know what you think or if you have any questions in the comments! And if you try the recipe and post it, make sure to tag me on Instagram so I can see it :)
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