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Traditional Chicken Mizutaki—ShojoBeat.com Exclusive! |
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Serves Four |
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This is considered a nabe dish (clay pot meal). There's no hard and fast rule
about any of the ingredients — it's often a great excuse to clean out your
refrigerator! You don't necessarily have to have all of the ingredients,
such as the shungiku, or the enoki mushrooms. Whatever takes your fancy!
You can find all of the ingredients at an Asian market, but you might also
be able to find them at your local supermarket. If not, try
www.asianfoodgrocer.com.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken legs
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems cut off
- 1 packet enoki mushrooms (optional)
Left: enoki; Right: shiitake
- 1 package tofu*
- 1 piece konbu (dried seaweed, for stock)
Left: konbu; Right: tofu
- 3 stalks naganegi, sliced diagonally (Japanese leeks, longer & skinnier than normal leeks)
- 1/4 piece of daikon root (you'll need some for the dip also)
- 1/2 carrot
- 1 bunch shungiku (Japanese vegetable, loosely similar to cilantro)
Veggies
- 1 bunch spinach
- 6 leaves Chinese cabbage
- 2 uncooked cups rice
For dip:
- ponzu (citrus-seasoned soy sauce)
- 1 bunch green onions sliced thinly
- nanami togarashi (chili pepper flakes, sometimes referred to as shichimi,
for spice and taste, optional)
- 1/4 piece of daikon root
*Tofu: Firm tofu is usually normal for nabe dishes, as soft tofu can disintegrate easily, but it depends on preference.
Tools:
- Rice Cooker
- Stove
- Clay pot
- Grater
Preparation:
- Rinse all the vegetables.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Cut tofu into ice-cube sized cubes.
Chicken and tofu cut
- Cut off stems of all mushrooms. Carve an 'X' on top of each shiitake mushroom
(helps to cook mushrooms faster). Some people use the stems for stock (optional).
Shittake mushrooms cut
- Slice leeks diagonally, into 1/5-inch slices.
- Slice carrots in 1/4-inch slices.
- Cut off the ends (stems) of the spinach and shungiku.
- Slice the daikon, and cut each slice in half (so they are semi-circles).
- Chop the rest of the veggies into bite-sized pieces.
Veggies sliced
For dip:
- Grate daikon for the dip.
- Thinly slice the green onions.
Directions:
Cook the rice according to the directions on the package.
- Take piece of dried konbu and wipe it down with a wet paper towel.
- Fill clay pot with water and place konbu in water. Make sure to take konbu out of water
before water boils, about 5 minutes.
Broth and konbu
- Put the chicken in the boiling water.
Broth and chicken
- After about 5 minutes, add leeks.
- After about 2 more minutes, add cubed daikon and carrot.
(Note: daikon is cooked when it turns transparent.)
- After about 2 more minutes, add shiitake mushrooms.
- Let broth boil for awhile (about 5-8 minutes). You will see froth rise to the top of
the water—this is very unhealthy so scoop out and discard the froth.
(For the weight conscious, also scoop out any grease at top.)
Skimming foam
- Add everything else to the pot (but not the dip ingredients), but don't overflow!
Everything in the pot
- Bring everything to a boil, on high heat.
- Add ponzu to a bowl, plus the grated daikon. Add green onions and chili pepper, as desired.
- Scoop out the cooked food and dip into the ponzu dip. Serve with rice in separate bowl.
Rice and sauce
- Eat!
*This is a meal that you cook as you eat, so continue adding more food to the broth and
scooping out cooked food out for dipping. Cook and eat to your heart's (and stomach's!) content! |
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Traditional Chicken Mizutaki is a shojobeat.com exclusive;
the original article appears in the November 2006 issue of Shojo Beat Magazine. |
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Want more articles like this PLUS six of the most addictive shojo manga from Japan delivered to your doorstep every month—before they hit the newsstands? Click here to subscribe now! |
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