Nabe & Shabu Shabu

~ Japanese hot pot ~

Toridango ~ Japanese chicken balls ~

1 lb. ground chicken

1 egg

2 scallions, minced

1-inch piece of ginger, grated

A pinch of salt and pepper

Ponzu (Japanese citrus soy sauce) for dipping

Round 1: Nabe with toridango

1. Peel and grate ginger; squeeze the juice from the grated ginger into a bowl with the ground chicken (discard ginger)

2. Finely mince the scallions, add to the ground chicken, along with one raw egg

3. Mix well, kneading the mixture with your hands for about 1-2 minutes

4. Let the stock come to a near-boil, then use two spoons to shape the meat into balls, and drop them into the hot pot with dashi stock*

5. Once the chicken balls are cooked they will float to the surface, then add the vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, noodles, moch, etc. to your liking

Round 2: Shabu Shabu

1. Add more stock as needed

2. Repeat step 5 with more vegetables, tofu, and mushroom

3. Once cooked, cook shabu-shabu beef or pork one slice at a time for 15-20 seconds or until the meat is no longer pink and repeat

*To make dashi, boil 4 -8 quarts of water with dashi powder or sache and dried kelp (available in Japanese markets)

**Other ingredients for the hot pot shown in the photo above (clockwise): Shimeji mushrooms, scallions, tofu, slices of mochi, shungiku (chrysanthemum greens); inaniwa udon (Japanese noodles); napa cabbage; kuzukiri (Japanese 'clear' noodles made from kudzu root powder); shabu-shabu thin-sliced beef and pork (available in Japanese markets)

***The hot pot that appears in both photos is the Zojirushi Gourmet d'Expert® Electric Skillet available online at Zojirushi or Bed Bath & Beyond.

****Traditionally, one either does nabe or shabu shabu, but we have always done both as Mina loves both the doridango and shabu shabu

It is more traditional to either do nabe or shabu shabu, but this is our family tradition because Mina loves both!