Hot Pots

(Photos Courtesy Harris Salat)

Harris Salat and Tadashi Ono are the authors of Japanese Hot Pots. Hot pots are one-pot meals served family style in a ceramic bowl. You can also use a cast iron Le Creuset as well.

Salmon Hot Pot (Ishikari Nabe)

4 cups dashi

3/4 cup shiro miso

1/4 cup mirin

1 medium Spanish onion (about 3/4 lb), cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1/4 small head green cabbage (about 1/2 lb), cut into bite-size pieces

2 medium Idaho potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

1/2 package (about 1/2 lb) firm tofu, cut into 4 pieces

1 oz harusame, soaked in water for 15 minutes

1 negi, sliced on an angle into 2-inch pieces

3 1/2 oz (half of a 200-gram package) enoki mushrooms, trimmed and pulled apart

4 oz shiitake mushrooms (about 8 pieces), stemmed

1 lb salmon fillet, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/2-inch-thick pieces

2 cups shungiku leaves, stemmed

1 Tablespoon salmon roe, for garnish (optional)

Sansho, for accent

Prepare the broth by combining the dashi, miso, and mirin in a bowl, whisking to blend well; reserve. Place the onion slices on the bottom of a hot pot and randomly pile the cabbage and potatoes on top of it. Pour in the reserved broth. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes. Uncover the pot, and place the tofu, harusame, negi, enoki mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms on top of the other ingredients, arranging each in a separate, neat bunch. Cover the pot again and simmer for 5 minutes more.

Uncover the pot and arrange the salmon slices on top of the other ingredients. Simmer until the salmon is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. As the fish cooks, use chopsticks at regular intervals to separate the slices and press them into the broth so they heat through evenly. Add the shungiku leaves and simmer for 1 minute more. Garnish with a sprinkle of salmon roe, if using, over the pot.

Transfer the hot pot to the dining table. Serve the ingredients together with the broth in small bowls, accenting with the sansho.