Akita Sandfish Hot Pot (しょっつる鍋, Shottsuru Nabe)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Donabe (clay hot pot), or a wide heavy pot with a lid
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cotton cloth
• •Kitchen shears for cleaning hatahata, if needed
• •Ladle, tori-zara plates, and chirirenge spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the fish

   Keep the hatahata cold until you need them. If the monger hasn't cleaned them, snip out the gills, open the belly neatly, and remove the guts, leaving the roe sacs in place if the fish have buriko. Rinse quickly under cold water, especially around the backbone, then pat dry. Blood muddies the broth, but soaking washes away the clean sweetness you bought the fish for.

2. 2

   Make the dashi

   Wipe the konbu with a damp cloth, but don't wash it. Put it in the cold water and bring it up slowly over low heat, about ten minutes. Lift the konbu out when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides, just before a boil.

   That pale bloom on the konbu is flavor, not dirt. Boil the kelp and the stock turns bitter and a little slick, so the timing protects the clear edge of the broth.
3. 3

   Strain without pressing

   Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and turn off the heat. Leave the flakes alone for two or three minutes, until they sink. Strain through a cloth into a clean pot or donabe and let it drip by itself. Don't squeeze. Squeezing presses the strong, oily flavors into the stock, and this nabe wants clarity.

4. 4

   Prepare the pot

   Cut the daikon thin enough to soften quickly. Keep the firm napa stems separate from the tender leaves. Tear the maitake by hand, cut the tofu into large pieces, and slice the negi on the diagonal. This isn't fuss. Each ingredient has its own timing, and the pot stays calm when you give the slow ones a head start.

5. 5

   Season the broth

   Pour 5 cups of the dashi into the donabe. Add the sake and mirin if using, then bring it to a quiet simmer for one minute to soften the alcohol edge. Add 3 tablespoons shottsuru and taste. It should be a little stronger than you want to drink, because the tofu and cabbage will dilute it as they cook.

   Shottsuru varies by maker. Hold back the last tablespoon until the end, then season by taste instead of by pride.
6. 6

   Simmer the vegetables

   Add the daikon, napa stems, and maitake. Simmer gently for five to seven minutes, until the daikon bends a little at the edge and the cabbage stems begin to turn translucent. These go in before the fish because they need time. Hatahata does not.

7. 7

   Add fish gently

   Lay the hatahata in a single layer, then tuck the tofu and negi around them. Do not stir. Spoon a little broth over the exposed fish, keep the surface just moving, and cook six to eight minutes, a few minutes longer if the roe is heavy. Skim any foam. The fish is done when the flesh turns opaque and slips easily from the backbone.

   A hard boil breaks the fish and clouds the broth. Gentle heat lets the shottsuru season the pot while the fish stays whole.
8. 8

   Finish and serve

   Add the napa leaves and seri or shungiku, and cook just until the greens relax while their color stays alive, one or two minutes. Taste the broth and add the remaining shottsuru a teaspoon at a time if it needs depth. Serve from the donabe into individual tori-zara, giving each person fish, tofu, vegetables, and clear broth.

9. 9

   Close with rice

   If you want shime, the closing bowl, add cooked short-grain rice to the remaining broth after the fish and vegetables are eaten. Simmer gently until the grains loosen and drink the shottsuru-dashi. This uses the best seasoning left in the pot instead of letting it disappear down the sink.

Chef Tips

• •Buy hatahata in winter, when the flesh is firm and the fish smell clean, faintly of cold water. If the eyes are cloudy or the belly is soft, change the dish. Nothing hidden works here, because the broth is clear and the fish is whole.
• •Don't replace shottsuru with ordinary soy sauce and keep the same name. Soy will make a pleasant nabe, but it won't be this Akita pot. If you lack shottsuru, save the hatahata for grilled fish and make another dish honestly.
• •A donabe gives steady, gentle heat and goes straight to the table. A wide heavy pot works too; just keep the simmer low, because the fish is delicate.
• •If your fish have buriko roe, serve them whole and handle them gently. The roe's texture is part of the pleasure, and stirring tears it loose before anyone gets to enjoy it.
• •Taste the broth after the cabbage has softened, not before. The vegetable water changes the seasoning, and shottsuru should finish deep and clean, not sharp.

Advance Preparation

• •The konbu can soak in the cold water overnight in the refrigerator for a gentler dashi.
• •Finished dashi keeps two days refrigerated. Reheat it gently before building the pot.
• •Cut the vegetables up to four hours ahead and keep them covered and chilled. Keep the greens wrapped separately so they stay crisp.
• •Clean the fish the day you cook it and keep it cold on a tray set over ice. Cooked shottsuru nabe does not improve overnight, because the fish breaks down in the broth.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 850g)