Miso kimchi hot pot (味噌キムチ鍋)
Hot pot is a very popular dish in Japan especially in Winter. Hot pot means “Nabe” in Japanese. Hot pot is the dish usually consisting of thin meat, vegetables, mushrooms and Tofu. Diners normally cook it at the table. Japanese people eat a variety of hot pots at home. You can enjoy eating hot pot with gathering family. Also, Japanese people sometimes have a hot pot party ("Nabe party" in Japanese) to have fun eating hot pot with friends as well. Hot pot is super easy to make. Only you have to do is cutting meat, mushrooms, Tofu and vegetables, and boiling them with hot pot soup base. Kimchi is a traditional Korean dish which is made by salted and fermented vegetables such as Napa cabbage and radish. It is also very popular in Japan. It has little spicy and sour flavors. I will introduce Miso kimchi hot pot to make it easily at home.
Ingredients (2 - 4 bowls):
- 300g (0.66LBS) of pork shoulder or thin pork
- 1 carrot
- 1/2 Japanese daikon (Daikon radish)
- 1/4 of cabbage
- 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 package (400g, 14oz) of tofu (Firm)
- 1 green onion
- 1 package of *miso kimchi soup base -> See picture A.
- Rice for 2 - 4 people
Cooking equipment: Electric skillet or pot with lid. -> See picture B.
Here is how to make it at home. Cooking time is about 20 - 30 minutes.
- Cook rice. Meanwhile, shake a package of miso kimchi soup base many times, open the package, put it into an electric skillet and bring to a boil with medium heat. -> See picture C.
- Meanwhile, cut pork shoulder into thin and bite size chunks. After the soup base is boiling, put the pork into the electric skillet. -> See picture D. (Cooking tips: Put meat first, then hard vegetables next, tofu absorbs the heat very quickly, so Tofu and green onions should be the last to put into the skillet.)
- Peel and cut a carrot into bite size chunks and put it into the skillet. - > See picture E.
- Peel and cut Japanese daikon into half-moon size chunks as shown in the picture. Put them into the skillet. -> See pictures F and G.
- Cut a cabbage into big bite chunks and put it into the skillet with dried shiitake mushrooms. -> See picture H.
- Cut Tofu into big bite size chunks, put them into the skillet after the pork and the carrot are fully cooked. -> See picture I.
- Cut a green onion into 5cm (2 inches) long diagonally and put them into the skillet. -> See picture J.
- Boil for another 1 minute and remove from heat. Pour miso kimchi hot pot into bowls and the rice into rice bowls.
