In the heart of Japan's ancient sumo wrestling tradition lies a hearty and nourishing dish known as Chanko Nabe, a hot pot that has become synonymous with the strength and stamina of these revered athletes. This savory and versatile stew is not just a meal; it's a symbol of resilience, unity, and the unwavering spirit of competition.
Chanko Nabe is a communal dining experience, where wrestlers, their coaches, and supporters gather around a large pot filled with a bubbling broth, an array of fresh vegetables, and an assortment of meats or fish. The variations are endless, with each Chanko Nabe reflecting the unique preferences and culinary traditions of its sumo stable.
One popular Chanko Nabe recipe features a rich broth made from chicken, pork, and vegetables, simmering with an assortment of seafood, including shrimp, clams, and squid. Another variation showcases a tantalizing miso-based broth, infused with the flavors of tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and tender cuts of pork or beef.
For those seeking a vegetarian delight, there's a Chanko Nabe recipe that boasts a flavorful vegetable broth, complemented by an array of seasonal vegetables, tofu, and konjac noodles. And for a taste of the sea, a Chanko Nabe with a light and delicate fish broth is sure to delight, featuring an assortment of fresh fish, shellfish, and an array of vegetables.
No matter the variation, Chanko Nabe is a testament to the power of shared meals and the camaraderie that forms around a hot pot. It's a dish that not only nourishes the body but also strengthens the bonds of friendship and community. As you explore the recipes in this article, we invite you to embark on a culinary journey that captures the essence of this iconic Japanese dish, celebrating the spirit of sumo wrestling and the joy of communal dining.
CHANKO NABE (SUMO STEW)
Chanko Nabe or Sumo Stew is a robust hot pot filled with all kinds of vegetables and tons of protein in a rich dashi and chicken broth. This well-balanced meal is traditionally eaten by sumo wrestlers, but it's also enjoyed at home or some restaurants.
Provided by Namiko Chen
Categories Main Course
Time 1h
Number Of Ingredients 27
Steps:
- Gather all the ingredients for the Chanko Nabe broth. This 6-inch grater works great for grating ginger and collecting the juice from grating it. In this recipe, we use only the juice of the ginger.
- In a donabe clay pot, Dutch oven, or large pot, combine the chicken broth, sake, mirin, ginger juice, and garlic. Bring it all to a simmer over medium heat.
- Once simmering, transfer several spoonfuls of the broth into a measuring cup or small bowl. Then, add the miso to the measuring cup and stir until smooth and combined.
- Gradually add the miso mixture back into the broth in the pot, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Once you've incorporated the miso, do not let the broth boil. Turn off the heat as soon as the broth starts to simmer and small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot.
- Gather all the meatball ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, ginger juice, soy sauce, cornstarch, panko, green onion, and half of the beaten egg (reserving the remaining half for another use). Using your hands, mix it all together.
- Once the mixture becomes pale and well combined, shape it into 1-inch (2.5 cm) meatballs. If the mixture is too loose to form meatballs, sprinkle in additional panko, as needed.
- Cut the cod fillet into 2-inch (5 cm) chunks. Peel and devein the shrimp. Cut the sliced pork belly into 2-inch pieces. Trim the visible fat from the chicken thighs and cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Cut the tofu into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes. Separate the napa cabbage leaves and cut them into smaller pieces. Finally, slice the carrot and make flower-shaped cutouts with a vegetable cutter.
- Cut the negi (long green onions) diagonally into 1-inch-thick pieces, cut the green onions into 2-inch (5 cm) lengths, and remove the stems of the shiitake mushrooms, making a decorative cut on the caps if desired.
- Place all the stew ingredients-the meatballs, seafood, pork belly, chicken, tofu, carrot slices, napa cabbage, negi, green onions, and mushrooms-on platters. Set the platters on the table.
- Pour the ponzu sauce and sesame sauce (goma dare) into individual dipping bowls at each place setting along with chopsticks, a soup spoon (optional), and a soup bowl.
- Set a portable gas burner on the table next to the platters of ingredients. Place the donabe or pot filled with the Chanko Nabe broth on top of the burner. If you don't have a portable gas stove, you can cook the stew on the stovetop, transfer it to a large bowl, and serve it family style. Or, you can bring the pot to the table and enjoy each batch, then return it to the stove to start a new batch.
- Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, add the fish, tofu, tough parts of napa cabbage, negi, carrots, and some mushrooms. You don't have to put all the ingredients in at once; you may cook in batches if you prefer. Cover to cook for 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender and the fish is cooked. Transfer the cooked food to individual soup bowls. Then, add the meatballs, meat (or more fish), and vegetables to the broth, and cook covered for 10 minutes. Be aware that the vegetables and tofu cook more quickly than the meatballs, seafood, and chicken.
- Keep the broth at a simmer the entire time. If the liquid gets low, add a little water or chicken broth to have enough liquid to heat the noodles or rice at the end. Even though you are thinning the broth, the flavorful ingredients you are cooking continue to enrich it.
- When diners are ready for the final course, remove any solids in the broth and add the rice or precooked udon noodles. Simmer until heated through, then ladle into the soup bowls and serve.
- You can keep the leftovers in the pot or in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours. Reheat to enjoy.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 666 kcal, Carbohydrate 39 g, Protein 58 g, Fat 28 g, SaturatedFat 9 g, TransFat 1 g, Cholesterol 204 mg, Sodium 969 mg, Fiber 4 g, Sugar 7 g, UnsaturatedFat 17 g, ServingSize 1 serving
"CHANKO NABE" SUMO STEW (ちゃんこ鍋)
How to make rich, warming and nutritious "Chanko Nabe" (ちゃんこ鍋) Sumo Wrester Hot Pot with homemade chicken meatballs, a variety of vegetables and tofu in a light chicken stock and dashi broth. (Serves 3-4)
Provided by Yuto Omura
Categories Mains
Time 40m
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- First prepare the meatballs. Add 200g (7oz) of ground chicken mince to a bowl along with 1/2 tbsp miso paste, 1/2 tsp ginger and 1/2 tsp garlic paste. Mix until the ingredients are well distributed (especially the miso, we don't want any lumps!).
- In a small separate bowl, crack one egg and lightly whisk.
- Add the egg and 1 tbsp of cornstarch to the chicken mince, mix until you have a slightly sticky mixture.
- Set aside for later.
- Add 1l dashi, 1½ tbsp chicken stock powder, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, ½ tbsp garlic paste, ½ tbsp ginger paste and 2 tbsp of ground sesame seeds to the pot.
- Mix up all the ingredients and bring it to the boil.
- Once boiling, use a spoon to take a scoop of seasoned chicken mince and then another spoon to scrape it off and drop it into the boiling broth. These are your meatballs.
- When all the mince is used up, put the lid on and cook for 3-4 mins.
- Add the carrots first as they take a bit longer than the other vegetables. Allow to boil for a few minutes.
- Now add the rest of your vegetables and the firm tofu, allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and mix in the miso by scooping it onto a ladle or mesh spoon and allowing a small amount of the hot broth in. Using chopsticks or a small whisk, break up the miso paste up into the small amount of broth and then gradually add it to the rest of the hot pot.
- Serve on its own or with a bowl of rice and enjoy!
SADOGATAKE CHANKO-NABE MISO-AJI (SUMO STYLE PORK HOT POT)
The staple dish of the sumo world is a hearty, filling one-pot meal, consisting of broth, vegetables, and meat or seafood, called nabe. When nabe is prepared by sumo wrestlers, it's called chanko-nabe, a name some believe refers to a sumo stable, master and his apprentices. The tradition of sumo wrestlers eating nabe supposedly began in the early 1900s, when star wrestler turned stable master, Hitachiyama, made a batch for his charges and realizing that the meal, usually cooked over a gas burner set on the table with diners gathered around, was not only nutritious and inexpensive but was also easy to prepare and eaten in a way that reinforced the communal aspect of the stable. It wasn't long before other stable masters were serving chanko-nabe, too. This recipe is from the sumo stable called Sadogatake.
Provided by Member 610488
Categories < 4 Hours
Time 1h20m
Yield 4 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 18
Steps:
- Bring 10 cups cold water to a boil in a wide medium cooking pot over high heat. Add dashi flakes, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring until flakes completely dissolve, about 1 minute.
- Add pork, sake, and mirin to dashi and simmer, skimming any foam that rises to surface, until pork is tender, 15-30 minutes.
- Dissolve red and white misos in 1 cup broth from cooking pot in a small bowl, then stir back into cooking pot.
- At the table, set cooking pot on a portable stove in center of table and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Add carrots, daikon, potatoes, onions, firm tofu, mushrooms, fried tofu, cabbage, and chives, in that order, and simmer until vegetables are just soft, about 5 minutes. The hot pot is now ready to be eaten "self-serve" style in medium bowls.
- (Optional) Once all the pork, vegetables, and tofu have been eaten, use a small sieve to pick out scraps. Bring remaining broth in cooking pot back to a simmer, then add rice or noodles and stir in eggs.
- Simmer until broth is absorbed by rice, about 5 minutes, or until noodles are cooked through, 6-8 minutes. Divide between bowls.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 416, Fat 15.3, SaturatedFat 3.7, Cholesterol 59.1, Sodium 2750.5, Carbohydrate 28.1, Fiber 6.2, Sugar 5.9, Protein 40.4
CHANKO NABE SUMO WRESTLER'S HOT POT
You need a Japanese Clay Pot or use a heavy pan. The Japanese cookbook says it is used by Sumo Wrestler's as their first meal of the day. From the Complete Book of Japanese Cooking
Provided by drhousespcatcher
Categories Soy/Tofu
Time 20m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 20
Steps:
- Notes: The Chinese cabbage used is called hakusai. The deep fried tofu used is called abura-age. It is thin sliced deep fried tofu. Also the zaar computer won't let me add Chrysanthemum leaves called shungiku which is a garnish. The Dashi-Konbu should be 4 X 1 1/2 X 4 inches.
- Fish Balls: Put all ingredients in food processor and pulse to rough texture not fine. put in container and cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Blanch the abura-age in rapidly boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain under cold running water and squeeze water out by hand. Cut in half lenghtways, then quarter crossways to make 8 rectangles. Cut each in half diagonally to make two rectangles. You should end up with 32.
- Cut the bok choy into 2 1/2 inch lengths. Cut leeks diagonally in 1 inch thick oval shapes. Cut Daikon in 1/4 inch rounds. Cut hakusai in strips crosswise. Keep the stocks and leaves separate.
- Grind citrus pepper. set aside.
- Lay dashi-konbu on bottom of pan. Pour in soup stock ingredients to fill half of pan. bring to boil on high heat.
- Cook fish balls: reduce heat to medium. Using a spoon scoop up the balls and shape into a ball using a metal spatula or a palette knife. Drop into boiling stock. Repeat until you finish fish paste. Skim surface frequently. Cook for 3 minutes.
- Carefully add chicken pieces which have been cut into large bite size pieces, the stalks of the hakusai, shiitake, leek then tofu and abura-age. Simmer about 12 minutes or until chicken is done. Add soft parts of hakusai and the shungiku [Chrysanthemum leaves] and wait for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Put pan on portable cooker on table and set at lowest heat [use a crock pot] Serve small amounts of ingredients in individual bowls.
- Sprinkle with citrus pepper.
Tips:
- Choose fresh ingredients: The quality of your ingredients will greatly impact the flavor of your Chanko Nabe. Use fresh, seasonal vegetables, high-quality meat, and flavorful broth.
- Use a variety of ingredients: Chanko Nabe is a versatile dish that can be made with a wide variety of ingredients. Don't be afraid to experiment with different vegetables, proteins, and seasonings to create a unique and delicious pot.
- Cook the ingredients in stages: To ensure that all of the ingredients are cooked evenly, cook them in stages. Start with the vegetables that take the longest to cook, such as potatoes and carrots. Then, add the meat and seafood. Finally, add the tofu and noodles.
- Season the broth to taste: The broth is the key to a flavorful Chanko Nabe. Season it with soy sauce, mirin, sake, and other seasonings to taste. You can also add a dollop of miso paste for extra flavor.
- Serve the Chanko Nabe hot: Chanko Nabe is best served hot, so make sure to eat it as soon as it is cooked. You can also keep the pot warm over a portable burner so that your guests can enjoy it at their leisure.
Conclusion:
Chanko Nabe is a delicious and hearty hot pot that is perfect for a cold winter day. It is also a great way to use up leftover vegetables and meat. With its variety of ingredients and flavorful broth, Chanko Nabe is a dish that everyone will enjoy. So next time you are looking for a satisfying and easy-to-make meal, give Chanko Nabe a try.
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
You'll also love