Bishu Nabe (Sake-Cooked Meat and Vegetable Hot Pot)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 65 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 4 servings
- Ingredients
- 13
About this dish
Bishu nabe is a hot pot associated with brewery workers in Saijo, Higashihiroshima, who ate it between tasks during the winter sake-making season.
Read more
No water or dashi is added. A small amount of pork shoulder is heated first so its fat coats the pot, followed by sliced garlic. Chicken thigh, chicken gizzard, vegetables, konnyaku, and tofu cook as one cup of sake is added little by little. Firm ingredients such as carrot, onion, and konnyaku enter before napa cabbage, white leek, garlic chives, and tofu. Salt and pepper provide the only final seasoning. Keep the faster vegetables from becoming soft, and do not eat the chicken or gizzard until the centers are fully cooked. The result has little free broth and relies on sake and vegetable moisture.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Cut the napa cabbage into large pieces, carrot into half-moons, white leeks diagonally, and onions into thick wedges.
Cut the garlic chives into 5 cm lengths and slice the garlic into thin rounds.
- 2Heat
Tear the konnyaku into small pieces, parboil, and drain.
Cut the tofu, chicken thigh, and pork into bite-size pieces. Slice through the thick parts of the gizzards so they cook evenly.
- 3Control
Divide all ingredients and the sake into two batches.
Put the first half of the pork in a wide pot over medium heat. When its fat begins to render, add half the garlic and cook until aromatic.
- 4Heat
Add half the chicken thigh and gizzard, then cook while adding the sake gradually.
Add carrot, onion, and konnyaku first. When the meat is nearly done, add napa cabbage, white leek, tofu, and garlic chives for a shorter cooking time.
- 5Season
Confirm that the thickest chicken and gizzard pieces have reached 75°C at the center and show no pink.
While the cabbage and chives still hold their shape, season the first batch with half the salt and pepper and eat.
- 6Season
After the first batch is eaten, repeat the same order with the remaining pork, garlic, chicken, gizzard, sake, vegetables, konnyaku, and tofu. Season with the remaining salt and pepper and eat before the vegetables become soft.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Pork fat, sake, and vegetable moisture cook the pot without water or dashi.
- Finish cue
- Season with the remaining salt and pepper and eat before the vegetables become soft.
- Avoid this
- Add napa cabbage, leek, and chives when the meat is nearly done, then eat as soon as the chicken and gizzard reach 75°C so the vegetables do not overcook.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
65min, 13 ingredients
Category median
40min, 9 ingredients
Based on 152 recipes
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