When it’s cold or rainy outside, all I want to do is to stay in and eat warm hot pot dishes. Luckily, my whole family loves a hot pot, or what we call Nabe in Japanese, so I have a lot of hot pot recipes stored in the back of my head (and here on the blog). Today I’m sharing Sesame Miso Hot Pot or in Japanese Goma Miso Nabe (胡麻味噌鍋). The savory, nutty, umami-rich broth will keep you cozy all night. You can easily leave out the meat to make it vegan-friendly too.
Why We Should Make Sesame Miso Hot Pot
Soothing and amazingly flavorful soup broth. It requires only common Japanese ingredients. Incredibly easy to prepare and to customize based on your (guests) needs. Best way to eat lots of veggies! Vegan soup broth for everyone to enjoy.
Plus, did you know most hot pot dishes use similar ingredients? If you have any leftover vegetables, make a different style of hot pot in the same week!
How to Make Sesame Miso Hot Pot
The best thing about hot pot dishes is that you can prepare everything ahead of time and have everyone cook together at the table. It’s as simple as:
3 Ingredients for Making the Soup Broth
1. Vegan Kombu and Dried Shiitake Dashi
Many people think “dashi”, or Japanese stock, is a seafood-based broth and it is not vegan-friendly. However, that’s not true. As I explained in detail in The Ultimate Dashi Guide, we have 5 different types of dashi, from vegan-friendly dashi to seafood-based dashi. In this recipe, we use kombu (dried kelp) and dried shiitake mushrooms for the broth, which are ingredients high in glutamates. Not only you can yield an umami-rich broth in a very short time, but they also offer plenty of health benefits.
2. Miso
In case you haven’t realized, I’ve been sharing delicious miso recipes every month in partnership with my favorite miso company, Hikari Miso. While I enjoy cooking with different kinds of miso, this organic Kodawattemasu Miso is by far my favorite. Every type and brand of miso has a different level of saltiness, so you have to taste and adjust the desired amount of miso for your soup broth.
3. Sesame Seeds
Let’s talk about the final important ingredient — sesame seeds. I always recommend toasting the sesame seeds before you use them. Even though the package of your sesame seeds says “toasted”, it’s not comparable when you smell the just-toasted sesame seeds. It’s a quick extra step, but you can bring out even more flavors by simply toasting them in a non-greased frying pan. After toasting, we would grind the sesame seeds into powder. Japanese household typically has a ceramic mortar and wooden pestle called Suribachi and Surikogi. The mortar has unique and beautiful unglazed grinding grooves on the inside which makes the job easier. My mom passed hers (above) down to me to replace the small and inexpensive Suribachi I bought when I was in college. I’d recommend getting a large one like this if you are looking for one. It’s much easier to grind without worrying about spilling the sesame seeds.
How to Serve Sesame Miso Hot Pot
When serving a hot pot as the main dish for a party, I may serve one or two small sides on the side. But if it’s just for my family, I’d skip the side dishes and we’d just eat a hot pot. All the nutritious ingredients are all in the pot already. Sides would be a luxury. So besides the earthenware donabe hot pot in the middle of the table, each person has a bowl of rice and a medium-size bowl for the food from the hot pot. Here is what you need to prepare for your table:
A portable butane stove. A donabe (or a large shallow pot so you can see inside the pot from your seat) A couple of communal ladles, long cooking chopsticks, or tongs. A platter of chopped vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, and meat (if you’re serving). Any sides you want to offer (optional).
Now sit back and enjoy your time over the delicious hot pot with your family and friends.
Can I Use an Electric Hot Pot?
Other Unique & Delicious Hot Pot Recipes To Try:
Kimchi Gyoza Nabe Monkfish Hot Pot (Anko Nabe) Soy Milk Hot Pot
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