← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 600 g bone-in chicken thighs or wings, chopped into chunks
• 400 g boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1.25 l Water
• 1 piece kombu (about 7 cm square)
• 2 tbsp Sake
• 2 slices Ginger
• ¼ Napa (Chinese) cabbage, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 1 Japanese long onion or thin leek, sliced on the diagonal
• 1 Carrot, sliced into rounds
• 400 g medium-firm tofu, cut into cubes
• 200 g shiitake, shimeji or enoki mushrooms
• 2 handfuls mizuna or spinach
• 120 ml ponzu, to dip
• 2 Spring onion, finely sliced, to serve
• shichimi or yuzu kosho, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Soak the kombu in the water in a large pot or donabe for at least 15 min.
2. Meanwhile, blanch the bone-in chicken in boiling water for 1 minute, then rinse it under cold water. This keeps the broth clean.
3. Add the blanched chicken, sake and ginger to the kombu water. Bring to a gentle simmer, removing the kombu just before it boils, and cook for 30 min, skimming off any foam. The broth turns pale and rich.
4. Add the boneless chicken and simmer for 10 min until cooked through (75°C / 165°F).
5. Add the cabbage stems, carrot, leek, tofu and mushrooms first, then the leafy cabbage and greens. Simmer for 5–8 min until tender.
6. Bring the pot to the table. Everyone helps themselves, dipping each bite into ponzu with spring onion and spice.

Tips

• Taste a cup of the plain broth with a pinch of salt first: in Hakata that is how the meal begins.
• Finish with rice and beaten egg stirred into the leftover broth for a zosui.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Japanese Cooking 101