Tonyu Nabe (Soy Milk Hot Pot)

Name: Tonyu Nabe
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 1 leek (white part); 1 bunch nira; ½ Chinese cabbage; 10 fresh shiitake mushrooms; 1 carrot; ½ daikon radish; 300 g sliced pork; 1 packet tofu (about 400 g); 600 ml (about 2½ cups) dashi, homemade or store-bought; 1½ inch piece kombu; 4 Tbsp. brown miso; 600 ml (about 2½ cups) soy milk; 2 Tbsp. mirin; 2 tsp. soy sauce; 1 pinch salt; Shichimi (for serving)

By Maori Murota

January 11, 2023

Stew with cabbage tofu pork carrots and radish.

Photo by Akiko Ida & Pierre Javelle

Hot pot is meant to be enjoyed by a group around a big table with a big pot of simmering broth and platters of ingredients in the middle. The broth base for tonyu nabe, as the name suggests, is soy milk, along with dashi and miso paste. The soy milk adds a gentle sweetness and creaminess to the dish with a slight nutty flavor that's enhanced by the miso paste—this all pairs beautifully with the pork and vegetables. Once you've plucked out the last bits of cooked veggies and meat, don't toss the broth. Add cooked rice to make oiya risotto so you and your friends can enjoy every last bit of flavor.

For the sliced pork, any thinly sliced pork loin or belly meant for hot pot will work—you can often find the meat presliced at Asian grocery stores. Otherwise, buy a small pork loin or tenderloin, freeze until fairly rigid but not fully frozen (20 to 30 minutes), and then slice as thinly as possible with a sharp knife.

This recipe was excerpted from 'Tokyo Cult Recipes' by Maori Murota. Buy the full book on Amazon.

What you’ll need

Instant Dashi
$5 At Weee!
Donabe
$60 At Amazon
Butane Burner
$130 $115 At Amazon
Shichimi
$7 At Bokksu

Cook's note:

You can make a “Oiya risotto” from this dish by adding some pre-cooked rice. Pre-cooked udon added to the broth are also very good.

Recipe information

Yield
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 leek (white part)

1 bunch nira

½ Chinese cabbage

10 fresh shiitake mushrooms

1 carrot

½ daikon radish

300 g sliced pork

1 packet tofu (about 400 g)

600 ml (about 2½ cups) dashi, homemade or store-bought

1½ inch piece kombu

4 Tbsp. brown miso

600 ml (about 2½ cups) soy milk

2 Tbsp. mirin

2 tsp. soy sauce

1 pinch salt

Shichimi (for serving)

Preparation

Step 1
Cut the leek on the diagonal into ¾ in pieces. Cut the nira into 1½ in lengths. Cut the Chinese cabbage into 3 pieces. Remove the stems of the shiitakes. Peel the carrot and cut into lengths on the diagonal, then cut each piece in half. Peel the daikon and slice into ¼ in rounds, then cut each round in half. Cut the pork into 1¼ in pieces. Cut the tofu into 1½ in cubes.
Step 2
Put the dashi and kombu in a pot with a lid. Turn on the heat and add half of the leek, Chinese cabbage, carrot and daikon. Cover and bring to the boil, then cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, blend the miso into a small amount of the soy milk, then add to the pot, along with the rest of the soy milk, the mirin, soy sauce and some salt, if necessary. Add the pork, shiitakes and tofu (however much you want). Cover and continue to cook on a low or medium heat for about 10 minutes, making sure the soy milk doesn’t come to the boil.
Step 3
Bring the pot to the table on a burner (if you have something more powerful such as an electric plate or portable gas ring, even better). The hotpot should be simmering, so it can cook new added foods. Add the nira at the last moment, because it cooks very quickly. Let guests serve themselves from the hotpot and sprinkle their bowls with shichimi to their taste. Once the pre-cooked food has all been eaten, add the remaining ingredients as you go, so they are cooked perfectly.