Prawn Hot Pot

Wednesday Dinner

- Prawn Hot Pot

Soup stock for this Nabe is a mixture of Japanese Dashi stock and prawn stock made from prawn heads and shells.  But the hero of the dish was prawn and Tofu balls.  It was soft, succulent and somehow more prawny than prawn itself!  I won't bother with prawns with tails next time and turn all prawn meat into delicious prawn and Tofu balls.

Prawn Hot Pot Recipe (Serves 2-4)

Ingredients

• 500g fresh whole prawns
• 250g Tofu
• 1Tbsp arrowroot powder or potato starch
• 1/4 Chinese cabbage
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 celery stalks

Seasoning

• 500ml Dashi stock
• 1Tbsp fish sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• a touch of cayenne pepper

Method

1. Peel the prawns (reserve heads and shells) and de-vein them
2. Make prawn stock by frying heads and shells in an oiled pot
3. When crispy, add 1L of water and simmer for 15mins
4. Make prawn balls by mixing minced prawn meat, Tofu, arrowroot powder and salt. 
5. Strain prawn stock and transfer to a clay pot
6. Add about 500ml of Dashi stock, fish sauce, lemon juice to a claypot and turn the heat on
7. Add hard vegetables (white part of Chinese cabbage, carrot, celery)
8. When boiling, drop prawn balls mixture into the soup using 2 spoons
9. Add cubed Tofu and green parts of Chinese cabbage just before serving

Pork Meatballs Hot Pot

Sunday Dinner

- Pork Meatballs Hot Pot

Hot pot (Nabe) is something many Japanese people make when they don't feel like cooking.  I am no exception.  Just throw everything in a pot and turn the heat on.  I chose pork meatballs for protein like last time.  The best for a chilly Sunday night.

Nabe Hot Pot Recipe (Serves 2-3)

Ingredients

Soup

• about 800ml Water
• 1 Dashi pack
• 1tsp soy sauce

Meatballs (*only use less than half, freeze the rest)

• 500g pork mince
• 1 small onion
• 2 celery stalks
• 1tsp salt
• 10g ginger, grated
• 1Tbsp arrow root

Other

• 1/4 Chinese cabbage
• 1 carrot
• 1 small turnip, sliced
• 3 dried Shiitake mushrooms, torn
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• glass noodles

Method

1. Make meatballs by mixing all the ingredients for meatballs by hand until sticky
2. Add all the ingredients for soup in a pot and turn the heat on
3. Add vegetables
4. When water is boiling, add meatballs
5. When meatballs are done, add glass noodles
6. Serve with Ponzu, Yuzukosho or Kanzuri

Pork Meatballs Hot Pot

Sunday Dinner

- Pork Meatballs Hot Pot

The second hot pot of the season!  Simple soup was made with a Dashi pack.  Added meatballs, carrot, Chinese cabbage, dried shiitake and glass noodles.  Pork meatballs were made with dill and finely chopped apples, it was delicious.

Tsumire Nabe (Fish Balls Hot Pot)

Wednesday Dinner

-Saury Tsumire Nabe (Fish Balls Hot Pot)

It's been raining and cold all this week in Sydney and I knew Nabe season is finally here.  (Nabe is a hot pot, Tsumire is fish balls in Japanese).  Although Nabe requires minimum amount of effort to prepare, it is not an ordinary dish.  I believe Nabe has social and cultural importance among Japanese people.  The dish signals the arrival of winter and in some ways, Nabe is a celebration of life.  Family, friends, even strangers gather around one pot and share a meal in a cold winter night, it brings people closer.

Wednesday was the first Nabe of the season, I wanted it to be special so I made fish balls using Pacific Saury (Sanma).  I filleted two pacific saury and minced the flesh with ginger in Vitamix.  To the fish paste, I added finely chopped 2 spring onions and 3 Shiso leaves infused in soy sauce.  Tsumire is traditionally made with fresh sardines but Sanma fish balls were as good.

Nabe can be made with pretty much any flavours you could think of, such as soy sauce, Miso, salt, soy milk, Kimchi, tomato, curry, chilli etc.  This time I made a simple clear soup with a Dashi Pack.  Bring water to boil with a Dashi pack, and the vegetables that takes longer to cook such as Daikon, carrot, celery, onion, leek, white part of Chinese cabbege.  Once the water is boiling, drop fish cake mixture into the soup using two spoons.  Add other ingredients that cooks quickly such as leaves of Chinese cabbage, kale, glass noodles, tofu.  Put a lid on.  Cook on low heat for about 5mins.

Serve with Ponzu and Kanzuri chilli paste.

Saury Fish Balls Recipe (Serves 2~3)

Ingredients

• 2 pacific saury, filleted
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 3 Shiso leaves infused in soy sauce, finely sliced

Method

1. Process filleted sauries in a blender to a smooth paste, transfer to a bowl
2. Add spring onions and shiso leaves
3. Drop the mixture in boiling water/soup using two spoons
4. Cook till firm