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Ishikari nabe
石狩鍋: salmon and vegetable hot pot in a miso broth from Hokkaido
Autumn salmon swimming up the Ishikari River, near Sapporo, gave the fishing families at its mouth a glut of fish, and this miso hot pot is how they cooked it. Today Hokkaido families bring a clay pot of it to the table on cold nights from October onwards, and everyone helps themselves as it bubbles on a portable burner. Chunks of salmon, potato, cabbage, tofu and mushrooms simmer in kombu broth thickened with miso. A pinch of sansho pepper at the end lifts the richness, and some cooks melt a knob of butter on top. Chef's tip: salt the salmon for 10 minutes and pour boiling water over it before it goes in the pot, as this firms the flesh and washes away any fishy smell.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
For the pot
To finish
Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Put ⅓ oz kombu (dried kelp) in a wide casserole or clay pot with 5 cups water and leave to soak for 20 minutes while you prepare everything else.
20 minStep 2: Sprinkle 1 ⅛ lb salmon fillet, skin on with ½ tsp salt and leave for 10 minutes. Put it in a colander, pour a kettle of just-boiled water over it until the surface turns pale, then rinse under the cold tap.
10 minStep 3: Heat the kombu water over a medium heat and lift the kombu out just before it boils. Add 2 potatoes, 7 oz daikon (white radish), 1 carrot and 1 onion and simmer for 10 minutes, until a knife meets only slight resistance.
12 minStep 4: Mix 4 tbsp miso with a ladle of the broth in a bowl until smooth, then stir it back into the pot with 2 tbsp sake and 1 tbsp mirin. Sake and mirin contain alcohol; for an alcohol-free broth, leave them out and add 1 tsp sugar.
1 minStep 5: Add 10 ½ oz Chinese leaf (napa cabbage), 6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, 10 ½ oz firm tofu and 1 leek or Japanese negi and nestle the salmon in among them. Simmer gently for 6–8 minutes, until the salmon is opaque all the way through and flakes easily (145°F/145 °F). Common mistake: stirring once the fish is in. It breaks into flakes and clouds the broth; gently push pieces around with chopsticks instead.
8 minStep 6: Lay 3 ½ oz shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) or spinach on top for the last minute, just until wilted. Take the pot to the table, add ½ oz butter if you like and season each bowl with 1 pinch ground sansho pepper.
1 minStep 7: Once the pot is empty, a classic finish is to add cooked rice or udon to the leftover broth and simmer for a few minutes.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ishikari nabe take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of mirin?
- Rice vinegar with ½ tsp sugar per tbsp.
- What can I use instead of salmon fillet, skin on?
- Trout or any firm white fish, same weight (check white fish a little sooner).
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