Mizuna Hot Pot (はりはり鍋, Hari-hari Nabe)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Donabe (Japanese clay pot), or a wide heavy pot
• •Fine-mesh strainer lined with a clean cloth
• •Portable table burner, optional but useful
• •Small tori-zara serving plates 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, about ten minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the sides. Bring the water to a gentle boil, add the katsuobushi all at once, take the pot off the heat, and let the flakes sink for two or three minutes. Strain through a cloth and let it drip. Don't squeeze, because squeezing presses the strong, oily flavors into the clear stock you need for this pot.

   The broth is clear because you guard it twice: don't boil the konbu, and don't squeeze the bonito flakes.
2. 2

   Prepare the mizuna

   Wash the mizuna in two changes of cold water, paying attention to the base of the stems where grit hides. Cut it into 3-inch lengths and keep the stems and leafy tops in separate piles. The stems need a little more time, and the leaves need almost none. That separation is the small piece of order that keeps the hari-hari crunch alive.

3. 3

   Slice the meat

   If using duck breast, chill it until firm, remove any tough silver skin, and slice it thinly across the grain. If using pork, buy it already thin-sliced if you can. Thin slices cook before they toughen, and the fat seasons the broth without turning it cloudy. Let the knife do the seasoning here: clean slices give you tender meat and a cleaner pot.

4. 4

   Season the broth

   Pour 4 cups of the dashi into a donabe or wide pot and add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, sugar, and salt. Bring it just to a quiet simmer and taste. It should be savory and lightly sweet, a little stronger than a soup you'd sip alone, because the tofu, mizuna, and meat will soften it as they cook.

5. 5

   Start the pot

   Add the tofu and negi to the simmering broth and cook for three or four minutes, until the tofu is warmed through and the negi softens at the edges. Keep the surface moving gently, not rolling. A hard boil breaks the tofu, tightens the meat later, and muddies the clean dashi.

6. 6

   Cook the meat

   Lay in a few slices of duck or pork at a time, swishing them through the broth until just cooked. Duck should still be tender at the center, and pork should lose its raw pink without curling into dry strips. Skim any foam that rises. Skimming isn't fussiness, it's how the broth stays clear enough to show what you've put into it.

7. 7

   Add the mizuna

   Add the mizuna stems first and cook for about one minute, then add the leafy tops and turn them through the broth for another thirty seconds. Stop while the greens are bright, glossy, and still crisp under the chopsticks. This is the dish's deciding moment. Cook mizuna until limp and the name has lost its meaning.

8. 8

   Serve from the pot

   Set the donabe at the table with small tori-zara plates and chirirenge spoons. Serve a little broth, meat, tofu, and mizuna to each person, then add more mizuna and meat in fresh rounds as the pot empties. Finish with a small shaving of yuzu peel or a pinch of shichimi tōgarashi if you like, but keep the hand light. The greens are the whole point.

Chef Tips

• •Buy mizuna with crisp stems and leaves that stand up, not bunches that flop like wet paper. This dish depends on the green snap, so shun and freshness matter more than clever seasoning.
• •Duck gives the broth a deeper, rounder body; pork makes a lighter, sweeter pot. Either is a modern honmono table if the method is kept honest. Whale belongs to the dish's history, not to most kitchens now.
• •Don't cook all the mizuna at once unless everyone is already sitting down. Add it in rounds and eat it while it still resists the tooth. Hari-hari means the crunch gets a vote.
• •For a meatless table, make the dashi with konbu and dried shiitake, then use thick tofu, aburaage, and mushrooms. That's temple-kitchen logic, not a compromise. It becomes a different pot, but still a true one.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made up to two days ahead and kept refrigerated. Reheat it gently before seasoning.
• •The mizuna can be washed, dried, and cut a few hours ahead. Wrap it in a damp towel and refrigerate so the stems stay crisp.
• •Slice duck while it is very cold, then cover and refrigerate until the pot is ready. Thin, cold slices handle cleanly and cook evenly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 550g)