Tabletop Dinner for Two☆ #1

Filed under:Crockpot/Crockette,Seafood,Tabletop Dinner for Two☆,Tofu — posted by IOjaw on January 31, 2006 @ 11:06 pm

I often sing the praises of one of my favorite household appliances around this time every year, the kotatsu or table heater. Tonight I’ll show one of the advantages of having such a convenient and energy saving item in the house. This recipe is one variation on a very popular wintertime dish in Japan:

Kani (Crab) Nabe for Two

Kani Nabe

(Click on image to view large size)

Dashi

Nabe Dashi

(Click on image to view large size)

3 cups water
1 ½ pieces dashi konbu (a variety of seaweed) – break as needed

Dashi Konbu

(Click on image to view large size)

6 pieces musubi konbu (another variety of seaweed)

Musubi Konbu

(Click on image to view large size)

1/3 cup katsuo dashi (liquid type)

Katsuo Dashi and Mirin

(Click on image to view large size)

1 tablespoon mirin
½ teaspoon minced ginger

Platter

Kani Nabe Platter

(Click on image to view large size)

Crab legs (halved)
Shungiku (spring chrysanthemum stems) – cut into large chunks
Nametake mushrooms
Shironegi (leek) – cut into 1 inch pieces
1 block Shimadofu (tofu) – cubed
Chinese cabbage – cut into large chunks

Other Items Needed

Nabe Pot

(Click on image to view large size)

1 ceramic nabe pot with lid
1 crockette (mini-slow cooker)
1 portable tabletop butane burner

I began in an unconventional way by using a crockette (mini-slow cooker) to prepare the dashi. I did this for three reasons:

• Hubby’s schedule is so spontaneous; we have a hard time setting specific timetables for meals.
• It’s my belief that stocks taste better when given lengthy steeping periods.
• I don’t like having to stand over or repeatedly check the stove while the stock is steeping.

Place the water, dashi conbu, and musubi conbu in the crockette and cover.
After four hours remove two-thirds of the dashi conbu. Leave the remaining one-third for additional flavor.
Stir in katsuo dashi, mirin, and ginger. Cover and let continue to cook for at least another four hours.

You can prepare the platter at your convenience and place in the refrigerator, if needed. I usually start preparations approximately one-half hour prior to setting table for dinner.

Tabletop Dinner for Two

(Click on image to view large size)

At dinnertime, prepare the table with the tabletop burner, eating utensils, and individual bowls.
Place the platter on the table.
Transfer two-thirds of dashi and musubi conbu to the nabe pot. Place the pot on the tabletop burner and add small portions of each item of the platter. Cover with the nabe pot lid and let come to a low boil. (Veggies are done when slightly soft to the touch. Crab is done when red in color.)

Serve cooked items combined in individual bowls accompanied by a small amount of dashi liquid.

After dinner, strain any remaining dashi liquid into a container. Remove the final one-third dashi konbu from the crockette. Add the crockette liquid to the container and store in refrigerator or freezer to use as starter dashi for the next time you prepare nabe.

zero comments so far »

Please won't you leave a comment, below? It'll put some text here!

Copy link for RSS feed for comments on this post

Leave a comment

Line and paragraph breaks automatic, e-mail address never displayed, HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>

(required)

(required)