Fukuoka Offal Hot Pot (もつ鍋, Motsunabe)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Donabe (Japanese clay hot pot), or a wide heavy pot
• •Portable tabletop burner
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Tori-zara individual serving bowls and chirirenge spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   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, 10 to 12 minutes. Pull the konbu the moment the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides. Bring the water just to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, and take the pot off the heat. Let the flakes sink for 2 minutes, then strain through a cloth without squeezing. Boiling the konbu brings bitterness, and squeezing the flakes presses out strong oily flavors. The pot needs clean depth.

   You're guarding clarity here. The dashi will carry the offal, so it should taste clean before anything rich enters the pot.
2. 2

   Wash the motsu

   Keep the motsu cold until you wash it. Put it in a bowl with the coarse salt and potato starch, rub gently with your hands, then rinse under cold water until no cloudy film runs off. Wash it twice, wash it thrice, but don't grind it into paste. The rubbing lifts clinging fat and odor from the surface; the good richness is inside the pieces. If it still smells sour or stale after this, stop and choose another dish.

   Sourcing first, always. Garlic can flatter good offal, but it cannot rescue tired offal.
3. 3

   Blanch briefly

   Bring a pot of clean water to a boil. Add the washed motsu and boil for 2 minutes, just until the surface tightens and gray foam rises. Drain, rinse with warm water, and let it drain well. This is not to make it tender; it removes blood and excess surface fat before the dashi meets it. If your package says nama, raw, simmer the blanched motsu in fresh water for 20 minutes more, until it has a firm chew, then drain again. If it is already boiled, skip that extra simmer.

4. 4

   Season the broth

   In a donabe or wide heavy pot, combine 5 cups of the dashi with the shōyu, sake, mirin, sugar, and sea salt. Taste it now. It should be a little stronger than a soup you would sip, because the cabbage will release water and sweetness as it cooks. If it tastes flat, add dashi before salt. Salt alone makes noise; dashi gives body.

5. 5

   Build the pot

   Lay the cabbage in the pot first, then add the gobō if using and tuck the tofu around the sides. Set the blanched motsu on top and scatter over the sliced garlic and chili rings. Pour the seasoned broth around the edge rather than directly over the mound. The cabbage protects the pot, releases its own water slowly, and lifts the motsu so its richness melts into the broth instead of sticking to the clay.

   If using a donabe, start over low heat and let the clay warm gradually. Sudden fierce heat is how good cookware becomes a sad lesson.
6. 6

   Simmer gently

   Cover the pot and bring it to a gentle simmer over a tabletop burner or on the stove. Cook 10 to 12 minutes, until the cabbage has softened and the motsu is tender and glossy. Don't stir at first. Let the cabbage settle on its own, then nudge the pieces only if something is sitting dry. Skim heavy foam or excessive fat, but leave a little sheen. That sheen is flavor, not a crime.

7. 7

   Add the nira

   Lay the nira across the top in three loose bands and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes more, just until the nira turns bright green and bends into the broth. It goes in late because its clean, grassy bite is part of the dish. Cook it too long and it becomes limp and sulfurous, which is a poor end for a good pot. Serve from the donabe into tori-zara bowls, with a dab of yuzu koshō if you like.

8. 8

   Finish with noodles

   When most of the solids are gone, add the champon noodles to the remaining broth and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, loosening them with chopsticks. This finish is called shime, the closing of the meal. The noodles drink the beef-rich dashi left behind, so don't throw it away. If the broth has reduced too much, add a splash of hot dashi or water before the noodles go in.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the butcher for cleaned beef small intestine for motsunabe, maruchō if they can get it. It should smell clean and faintly sweet, never sour. The best technique I know is only there to keep a good ingredient from being spoiled.
• •Honeycomb tripe can stand in when small intestine is impossible to find, but say plainly what it is: cleaner chew, less soft fat, not the same Hakata richness. Mixed beef motsu from a Japanese market is closer.
• •A donabe is the right vessel because it heats gently and stays warm at the table. A wide heavy pot works, but keep the heat modest and don't crowd it. Nabemono should gather people, not wrestle them.
• •For a miso broth, dissolve 3 tablespoons awase miso into the seasoned dashi and reduce the shōyu to 2 tablespoons. Keep the simmer gentle after the miso goes in so its aroma stays round.
• •Do not skip the noodle finish. Champon noodles are the most Fukuoka ending, and they turn the remaining broth into the second half of the meal.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated. Reheat it gently before seasoning.
• •The motsu can be washed and blanched 1 day ahead. Chill it quickly, cover it once cold, and keep it refrigerated until the pot is ready.
• •Cabbage and tofu can be cut a few hours ahead. Cut the nira close to cooking so it stays crisp and green.
• •Do not assemble the full pot far in advance. Salted broth pulls water from the cabbage, and the nira loses the fresh line you want on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 800g)