Kaki Dotenabe is a hot pot dish with Oysters and vegetables in a strong Miso based soup. Kaki Dotenabe is a Hiroshima regional dish, an area famous for oysters. It is often eaten in winter as other hot pots are, and that’s also when oysters are in season. The distinguished “Umami” savory flavor from oysters is blended into the Miso based soup, and it is eaten as is, without any dipping sauces like many other hot pots require. You can of course enjoy the main ingredient of oysters in the pot, but also the side ingredients Napa cabbage and Tofu absorb a wonderful shellfish taste.
Dotenabe is a kind of hot pot that is eaten in different regions in Japan with different ingredients. Dote means a river bank or mud wall, and Dotenabe refers to the Miso paste wall and ledge made around the inside of the cooking pot, looking like a river bank. Although Kaki Dotenabe is originally from the Hiroshima area, it is widely eaten and loved all over Japan. Another famous Dotenabe is Motsu Dotenabe. Mostsu is the offal of cows and pigs (organs), but that would be a different recipe for some other time. Vegetables in Kaki Dotenabe are up to each household, but you could use Daikon radish which is also in season in winter and gobo burdock root that goes very well with miso. If you want some starch with the dish, you can add Udon noodles or rice in the end, and that would be a wonderful ending to the dinner.
The miso paste used in Dotenabe recipes is usually more red than Awase miso (medium color), but you can adjust the ratio of red miso and Awase or even white miso to your taste. The soup will be much stronger than Miso Soup, and it should be, so you may not want to drink it but use it more like a sauce. While eating (and cooking) at the dinner table on a portable stove, add more Dashi and Miso paste freely as you wish if the soup evaporates too much. Dotenabe is easy to make for dinner even on a busy weekday once you have all the ingredients. Try this one for a cold night, and it will warm you up very well.
Kaki Dotenabe Recipe
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Ingredients
- 10-13 oz Oysters
- 1 Tbsp Katakuriko potato starch
- 4 leaves Napa cabbage
- 1 bunch Syungiku
- 2 long white onions
- 8 Shiitake mushrooms
- 1 package Enoki mushrooms
- 1 package Tofu
- 1/2 cup Miso paste Awase (mixed)
- 2-3 Tbsp Miso paste red
- 2 Tbsp Sake
- 2 Tbsp Mirin
- 3 cups Kombu Dashi
Instructions
- Sprinkle potato starch over oysters and gently rub oysters to clean. Wash out the starch under running water. Strain water and set aside.
- Cut Napa cabbage into bite size pieces. Cut Syungiku into 2” long pieces. Slice long white onions diagonally. Remove stems of Shiitake and make decorative cross cuts on top if you like. Cut off the end of the Enoki bunch and pull apart into smaller bunches. Cut Tofu into 12 slices.
- In a medium bowl mix Miso pastes, Sake, and Mirin together.
- Smear the Miso mixture on the inner wall of a large Nabe ceramic pot. Lay vegetables in the pot and add Dashi. Put the pot on the stove at medium heat. When vegetables are more than half way done, add oysters. Cook for a few minutes until oysters are cooked through.
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