Vegan Chanko Nabe Recipes

CHANKO NABE (SUMO STEW)

Steps:

• Gather all the ingredients for the Chanko Nabe broth. This 6-inch grater works great for grating ginger and collecting the juice from grating it. In this recipe, we use only the juice of the ginger.
• In a donabe clay pot, Dutch oven, or large pot, combine the chicken broth, sake, mirin, ginger juice, and garlic. Bring it all to a simmer over medium heat.
• Once simmering, transfer several spoonfuls of the broth into a measuring cup or small bowl. Then, add the miso to the measuring cup and stir until smooth and combined.
• Gradually add the miso mixture back into the broth in the pot, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Once you've incorporated the miso, do not let the broth boil. Turn off the heat as soon as the broth starts to simmer and small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot.
• Gather all the meatball ingredients.
• In a large bowl, combine the chicken, ginger juice, soy sauce, cornstarch, panko, green onion, and half of the beaten egg (reserving the remaining half for another use). Using your hands, mix it all together.
• Once the mixture becomes pale and well combined, shape it into 1-inch (2.5 cm) meatballs. If the mixture is too loose to form meatballs, sprinkle in additional panko, as needed.
• Cut the cod fillet into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks. Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut the sliced pork belly into 2-inch pieces. Trim the visible fat from the chicken thighs and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tofu into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. Separate the napa cabbage leaves and cut them into smaller pieces. Finally, slice the carrot and make flower-shaped cutouts with a vegetable cutter.
• Cut the negi (long green onions) diagonally into 1-inch-thick pieces, cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths, and remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, making a decorative cut on the caps if desired.
• Place all the stew ingredients-the meatballs, seafood, pork belly, chicken, tofu, carrot slices, napa cabbage, negi, green onions, and mushrooms-on platters. Set the platters on the table.
• Pour the ponzu sauce and sesame sauce (goma dare) into individual dipping bowls at each place setting along with chopsticks, a soup spoon (optional), and a soup bowl.
• Set a portable gas burner on the table next to the platters of ingredients. Place the donabe or pot filled with the Chanko Nabe broth on top of the burner. If you don't have a portable gas stove, you can cook the stew on the stovetop, transfer it to a large bowl, and serve it family style. Or, you can bring the pot to the table and enjoy each batch, then return it to the stove to start a new batch.
• Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, add the fish, tofu, tough parts of napa cabbage, negi, carrots, and some mushrooms. You don't have to put all the ingredients in at once; you may cook in batches if you prefer. Cover to cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the fish is cooked. Transfer the cooked food to individual soup bowls. Then, add the meatballs, meat (or more fish), and vegetables to the broth, and cook covered for 10 minutes. Be aware that the vegetables and tofu cook more quickly than the meatballs, seafood, and chicken.
• Keep the broth at a simmer the entire time. If the liquid gets low, add a little water or chicken broth to have enough liquid to heat the noodles or rice at the end. Even though you are thinning the broth, the flavorful ingredients you are cooking continue to enrich it.
• When diners are ready for the final course, remove any solids in the broth and add the rice or precooked udon noodles. Simmer until heated through, then ladle into the soup bowls and serve.
• You can keep the leftovers in the pot or in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. Reheat to enjoy.

CHANKO NABE (SUMO WRESTLER HOT POT)

Steps:

• Soak the konbu in a bowl of water (you will use this water later).
• Bring water (not in ingredients) in a large pot to a boil, add the chicken carcass.
• When it starts boiling again and the surface of the chicken carcass becomes white, drain and rinse the chicken carcass well, removing guts and other brown bits.
• Add the chicken carcass and the konbu to the pot. Add 1000ml / 2.1pt water including the water from the konbu to the pot and bring it to a boil.
• Remove scum and reduce the heat to simmer. Cook for minimum 30 minutes, preferably 1 hour. Remove scum occasionally until no more brownish scum comes to the top.
• Put through a sieve. If the amount of broth is less than 750ml / 1.6pt, add water.
• Add all the Chanko Nabe Broth ingredients in a pot and bring it to a boil.
• Turn the heat off and leave until required.
• Bok choy: Remove outer leaves. Cut the central cluster of small leaves vertically to half or quarters depending on the thickness of the cluster. Wash well, particularly at the bottom of the stems where dirt collects. If the outer leaves are large, diagonally cut in half.
• Chinese cabbage: If the leaf and the stem is very wide, halve vertically, then slice leaves diagonally. To diagonally slice, place the stem-end to the left (for a right hander) on the cutting board. Place a knife diagonally tilted to the right and slice the leaf diagonally to 5cm / 2" long pieces, by placing a knife.
• Carrot: Cut a carrot to 5cm / 2" long, then slice vertically to 2-3mm / 1⁄16- ⅛" thick. If the rectangle is very wide, halve it vertically. Alternatively, slice the carrot diagonally.
• Shallot/Scallions: Diagonally cut to 5cm / 2" long.
• Shiitake mushrooms: Remove the stems. To decorate shiitake head (optional), make a shallow V-shape cut in the middle of the head, then another V-shape cut perpendicular to the first cut, making a cross (see the photo in the post).
• Enoki mushrooms: Trim the end of the stems that are woody. If mushrooms are stuck together at the bottom, divide it into smaller bunches.
• Place all the ingredients in a pot (note 3), clustering each ingredient together.
• Add the broth to the pot and heat the pot on a portable stove (note 4).
• Serve with small serving bowls.

CHANKO NABE SUMO WRESTLER'S HOT POT

Steps:

• Notes: The Chinese cabbage used is called hakusai. The deep fried tofu used is called abura-age. It is thin sliced deep fried tofu. Also the zaar computer won't let me add Chrysanthemum leaves called shungiku which is a garnish. The Dashi-Konbu should be 4 X 1 1/2 X 4 inches.
• Fish Balls: Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse to rough texture not fine. put in container and cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
• Blanch the abura-age in rapidly boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain under cold running water and squeeze water out by hand. Cut in half lenghtways, then quarter crossways to make 8 rectangles. Cut each in half diagonally to make two rectangles. You should end up with 32.
• Cut the bok choy into 2 1/2 inch lengths. Cut leeks diagonally in 1 inch thick oval shapes. Cut Daikon in 1/4 inch rounds. Cut hakusai in strips crosswise. Keep the stocks and leaves separate.
• Grind citrus pepper. set aside.
• Lay dashi-konbu on bottom of pan. Pour in soup stock ingredients to fill half of pan. bring to boil on high heat.
• Cook fish balls: reduce heat to medium. Using a spoon scoop up the balls and shape into a ball using a metal spatula or a palette knife. Drop into boiling stock. Repeat until you finish fish paste. Skim surface frequently. Cook for 3 minutes.
• Carefully add chicken pieces which have been cut into large bite size pieces, the stalks of the hakusai, shiitake, leek then tofu and abura-age. Simmer about 12 minutes or until chicken is done. Add soft parts of hakusai and the shungiku [Chrysanthemum leaves] and wait for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Put pan on portable cooker on table and set at lowest heat [use a crock pot] Serve small amounts of ingredients in individual bowls.
• Sprinkle with citrus pepper.