Sea Bream Hot Pot (鯛ちり, Tai-chiri)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Donabe (Japanese clay hot pot), or a wide heavy pot
• •Portable tabletop burner
• •Kettle for shimofuri, the quick scald
• •Fine-mesh strainer for ponzu
• •Individual tori-zara plates and chirirenge spoons

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the ponzu

   Bring the mirin to a brief boil, about 30 seconds, then let it cool. Stir it with the soy sauce and citrus juice. If you have the small konbu and katsuobushi, add them and let the ponzu rest while you prepare the pot, then strain without pressing. The mirin loses its raw edge, the citrus sharpens the soy, and the konbu and flakes round the sauce without making it heavy.

   Don't squeeze the katsuobushi. The last pressed drops taste strong and oily, and ponzu for chiri should be bright enough to clean the tongue after rich fish.
2. 2

   Steep the konbu

   Wipe the larger konbu pieces with a damp cloth, but don't wash them. Put them in the 8 cups cold water in a donabe or wide pot and let them soak 30 minutes if you have the time. Bring the water up slowly over medium-low heat, then lift out the konbu just before the boil, when small bubbles climb the sides. This pot stops at konbu because the sea bream will give the broth its sweetness.

   The pale bloom on konbu is flavor, not dirt. Boil the kelp and the broth turns faintly bitter and slick, which is a poor trade for impatience.
3. 3

   Salt the fish

   Lay the sea bream pieces on a tray and sprinkle them lightly with the salt. Leave them 10 minutes, just until moisture beads on the surface. This is cleaning, not curing. The salt draws out surface moisture and a little blood near the bones, which helps the finished broth stay clear.

4. 4

   Scald and rinse

   Set the fish in a colander and pour boiling water over the pieces just until the surface turns white. Immediately rinse in cold water, using your fingers to remove loose scales, blood, and dark bits near the bones. Pat dry. This is shimofuri, the quick scald that keeps a fish hot pot honest: clean fish, clean broth, nothing hidden.

   Be especially patient around the head and collar. They give wonderful sweetness, but only if the blood and stray scales are cleaned away first.
5. 5

   Prepare the table

   Arrange the tofu, shiitake, negi, and mizuna on a platter with a little space between them. Set out small tori-zara plates, ponzu, momiji-oroshi, and sliced scallions. Once the pot is moving, you should not be hunting for a spoon. Nabemono is calm because everything has its place.

6. 6

   Start the pot

   Bring the konbu broth to a quiet simmer. Add the tofu, shiitake, and negi first and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the negi begins to soften. Add the bony fish pieces next, then the more delicate fillet pieces a minute or two later. Keep the broth trembling, never rolling. A hard boil roughens the fish and clouds the broth.

   If you're cooking at the table, add only enough fish for people to eat now, then replenish as you go. Freshly cooked tai is sweet and tender; forgotten tai in the pot is just expensive discipline.
7. 7

   Add the mizuna

   Add the mizuna at the end, just long enough for the stems to bend and the leaves to turn glossy. The greens are there for freshness and color, not for surrender. Lift each piece of fish as soon as it turns opaque and begins to pull cleanly from the bone.

8. 8

   Dip and eat

   Each person lifts fish, tofu, and vegetables into a small plate and dips them in ponzu, adding scallion and momiji-oroshi as they like. The pot itself stays lightly seasoned so the broth can take on the sea bream's sweetness. The salt and acid arrive in the dipping sauce, bite by bite, where you can judge them.

9. 9

   Finish with zosui

   If you want the proper ending, skim the broth after the fish and vegetables are eaten. Add the rinsed cooked rice and simmer 2 to 3 minutes, until loose and porridge-like. Drizzle in the beaten egg, cover for 30 seconds off the heat, and scatter a little scallion. Rinsing the rice keeps the finish clear and light, and the egg catches the last sweetness of the bream.

Chef Tips

• •Ask the fishmonger for madai that looks glistening fresh, with clear eyes, red gills, firm flesh, and no strong smell. If the fish is tired, change the dish. No ponzu can make poor tai into celebration.
• •Have the fishmonger scale it, gut it, cut it into bone-in pieces, and split the head. There is no honor in fighting a sea bream head with the wrong knife ten minutes before guests sit down.
• •Keep the head, collar, and bones. They are not scraps here. They give the broth the sweetness that makes tai-chiri worth making.
• •If sea bream is unavailable, you can make chiri-nabe with cod, halibut, or another firm white fish, but say what it is. It may be good, but it is no longer tai-chiri.
• •Good bottled ponzu is a sensible stand-in for a busy table. Instant dashi powder is not. In this dish the pot is konbu water and fish, so flat saltiness has nowhere to hide.
• •Ask about shun before you buy. Around spring, madai may be sold as sakura-dai, sea bream of cherry-blossom season, but the best answer is still the fish in front of you.

Advance Preparation

• •The ponzu can be made 2 to 3 days ahead and kept refrigerated. It tastes rounder after a night with konbu and katsuobushi, then strained.
• •The konbu for the hot pot can soak overnight in the measured cold water in the refrigerator. Bring it up slowly the next day and remove it before the boil.
• •Tofu, shiitake, negi, and mizuna can be prepared a few hours ahead. Keep the mizuna wrapped in a damp towel so it stays crisp.
• •Buy and clean the fish the day you cook. Do the shimofuri within an hour of starting the pot, so the surface stays clean and the flesh stays sweet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 750g)