Miso Nabe (Miso Hot Pot) 味噌鍋

Ingredients:

• 1 pack dashi (or if want to make from scratch, use kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms)

• 4 tbsp miso (I used white miso)

• 2 tbsp sake

• 1 tbsp mirin

• 1 pack thinly-sliced pork

• 1/4 napa cabbage

• 1 pack shimeji mushrooms

• 1 pack firm tofu

• 1 carrot

• 1 bundle shungiku (garland chrysanthemum)

• Note: the best part about hot pot is that you can add any ingredients you like, so don't be limited by the ingredients above!

Instructions:

1. Start preparing soup base - over medium heat, bring a pot of water to a simmer, then add dashi pack (or if making from scratch, add kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms) then move on to preparing other ingredients

2. Prepare ingredients - cut the napa cabbage into bite-sized pieces, cut off the bottom of the shimeji mushrooms (and can rip into smaller bundles), cut the firm tofu into rectangular blocks, cut the carrot into bite-sized pieces (I used a flower-shaped cutter and used a peeler to make thin strips) and cut the shungiku into ~2-inch pieces

3. Finish soup base - to the pot of dashi, add in sake and mirin, then add in miso (I usually use a strainer to make sure the miso incorporates into the soup easily), make sure to taste and adjust to your liking

4. Cook hot pot ingredients - starting with the ingredients that take longer to cook, start putting ingredients in the hot pot (I first put in the thick carrots, stem part of napa cabbage, tofu and shimeji mushrooms, then put in thin strips of carrots, leafy part of napa cabbage, thinly-sliced pork and shungiku)

5. Serve it up - sit around the hot pot and share with your friends, ladle in the nutritious, delicious miso soup and pick out your favorite ingredients

6. Enjoy!