Wild Duck Hot Pot (鴨鍋, Kamo 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
• •Sharp slicing knife

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 slowly toward a simmer over low heat, about ten minutes. Pull the konbu when the water trembles and small bubbles climb the pot. Add the katsuobushi, take the pot off the heat, and leave it alone for three minutes. Strain through a cloth without squeezing, because squeezing presses out the strong oily flavors you don't want in a clear hot pot broth.

   Konbu is steeped, not boiled. Boiling makes the stock bitter and slick, and kamo nabe needs a clean base so the duck fat can speak clearly.
2. 2

   Slice the duck

   If using a whole duck or duck parts, cut away the breast meat and reserve the bones, neck, and lean trimmings. Chill the breast until firm, then slice it across the grain into pieces about 3mm thick, keeping a narrow band of skin and fat on each slice. Thin slices cook before the meat tightens, and the fat melts just enough to perfume the broth.

   Sourcing first, always. Wild duck should smell clean, never muddy or sour. If it smells tired, change the dish.
3. 3

   Season the broth

   Return the dashi to the pot and add the soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar if using. Bring it to a quiet simmer and taste. It should be savory and a little lean at this point, because the duck fat and leek sweetness will finish the seasoning in the pot.

4. 4

   Enrich with bones

   Add the duck bones and trimmings to the simmering broth and cook gently for twenty minutes, skimming once or twice if foam gathers. This gives the broth the duck's depth before the tender breast slices go in. Keep the simmer low, since a hard boil clouds the stock and makes the fat taste coarse.

5. 5

   Set the pot

   Remove the bones and trimmings. Arrange the negi or leek, tofu, shiitake, and hakusai in a donabe or wide pot, leaving open space in the center for the duck. Pour in enough broth to come halfway up the ingredients. The vegetables should simmer, not drown. A crowded pot cooks unevenly and looks anxious, which is no help to anyone.

6. 6

   Cook in stages

   Bring the pot to a gentle simmer at the table or stove. Cook the leek, mushrooms, tofu, and cabbage until the leek softens and smells sweet, about five minutes. Add a few slices of duck at a time and cook only until the surface changes color, thirty to sixty seconds. Eat them as they are ready, then add more. This is the kindness the duck needs.

7. 7

   Finish the greens

   Add the seri, mizuna, or shungiku near the end, pressing it just into the hot broth until it wilts but keeps its green edge. Add yuzu peel if using. Greens go last because their fragrance is quick and clean, and long cooking turns it dull.

8. 8

   Close the meal

   When the duck and vegetables are gone, taste the broth. It should be gold with duck fat and sweet from the leek. Add cooked rice for zosui, a loose rice finish, or add udon and simmer until hot. This last bowl is not an afterthought. It is where the whole pot gathers itself.

Chef Tips

• •For wild duck, ask whether it was properly dressed and how old the bird is. Younger birds are better for quick-cooked slices. Older birds give excellent broth, but the breast may need thinner cutting.
• •If you use farmed duck, choose breast with clean-smelling fat and firm flesh. It will be milder and fattier than wild duck, so skim lightly if the surface becomes heavy.
• •Negi is not decoration here. Its sweetness catches the duck fat and rounds the soy dashi. If you cannot find Japanese long onion, use slender leeks and rinse between the layers.
• •A donabe, the Japanese clay pot, holds gentle heat beautifully. A wide Dutch oven works on the stove, but bring it to the table low and steady. This dish wants a quiet simmer, not a rolling boil.
• •Do not add all the duck at once. Kamo nabe is eaten in stages, and the best slice is the one pulled from the broth the moment it turns tender.

Advance Preparation

• •The dashi can be made one day ahead and refrigerated. Keep it unseasoned until you are ready to build the hot pot.
• •Duck breast slices best when very cold. Chill it for thirty minutes before cutting, then cover and refrigerate the slices until the pot is ready.
• •Vegetables can be washed and cut a few hours ahead. Keep the greens wrapped in a damp towel so they stay lively.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 520g)