Put the pot on

I don't think I will ever tire of nabe, the wonderful tabletop soup.  Of course, I am a soup person in general.  When I was a kid, I remember working in the yard on Sundays in the fall.  My nose would be cold, but we would get all the leaves raked and flowerbeds mulched.  If I was really lucky, we would use the chipper to grind up sticks and the leaves into mulch.  I loved to feed things into that machine!  We would also plant tulip or daffodil bulbs or do other fun tasks around the yard.  I'm sure there were times I was less than enthusiastic, but I don't recall them.  After working for a couple hours, we would go inside to bowls of hot soup and freshly made bread or cornbread. 

For me, soup is comfort food for the soul.  It warms me up from the inside out.  I love eating it when the weather is cold. 

Tonight, we decided to have soy milk nabe for dinner.  From the moment I suggested it, I was excited.  We went to the department store this morning to pick up the various ingredients.  Soy milk and veggies were purchased from the main grocery store.  The chicken shop sold us ground seasoned chicken for meatballs.  We bought scallops and oysters from the fish storefront.  It takes a bit of time going to all the various stores, but I prefer to not get everything from the big department stores.

Back at home, my husband prepped everything.  He made broth with soymilk and dashi (fish broth) as well as chopped all the vegetables.

We cook it at the table on our induction range.  It can also be cooked on a single gas burner stovetop.  In the US we had an electric nabe pot.  We also gather plates of the prepped ingredients.  Tonight we had: various types of mushrooms, napa cabbage, mizuna, carrots, daikon, gobo or burdock root, oysters, scallops, chicken meatballs, and thinly sliced pork.

After cooking and eating two batches of soup, it was time for the final course.  Instead of making risotto like we do for many versions of nabe, we opted to cook fresh ramen noodles in the soy milk broth.  The noodles soak up the broth and make for an excellent end to the meal. 

When dinner was done we were all super full.  But also very happy.  Instead of laying around, we rode our bikes around the neighborhood to see the three places that have lights - the rose garden, the fountain at Hikarigaoka Park, and one house. 

I often ask the park moms what they are making for dinner.  Since the weather has turned cold, their reply is often nabe.  Sometimes it is fancy, other times simple.  But regardless of the variety, it is always delicious!