Feeling cold to your toes? Here’s one Japanese dish that will surely warm you all over – nabemono! A dish that’s popularly served in Japan during cold weather, nabemono, which means “things in a pot” or “one pot dish”, is a pot of soup filled with various meats and/or vegetables.
Nabemono, or nabe, is a dish that is traditionally shared by a group of two or more diners, usually by a family. It is believed that sharing from a common pot brings the diners closer together. The dish is cooked at the table and the diners pick the food they like to eat from inside the pot. Sometimes the dish comes with a dip, depending on the type. The pot is kept warm by a small burner placed underneath it, so the dish can be enjoyed longer while the diners chat.
There are many varieties of nabe. The common ones include yosenabe and chankonabe. Yosenabe is the most popular in Japan wherein all of the ingredients are cooked together at once; while chankonabe comes with more ingredients intended to increase one’s weight, hence, favoured by Sumo wrestlers.
So we invite you to try this heart-warming dish with your loved ones and share an unforgettable and satisfying meal together, Japanese style.
