Heat up with a bowl of wealthy and savory Motsunabe—a regional Japanese sizzling pot dish with plump beef offal, garlic chives, cabbage, and tofu simmered in a creamy miso broth. It’s full of deep umami goodness!
Selection meats could not come to thoughts if you consider Japanese delicacies. On the contrary, Motsunabe (Japanese Offal Sizzling Pot) is a traditional regional dish that you would be able to now discover at specialty eating places in lots of elements of Japan. Whereas beef small gut could not swimsuit everybody, I encourage you to do this recipe should you’re a fan of its distinctive, chewy texture. It makes a wealthy and creamy broth with deep umami, too.
Should you’re craving extra sizzling pot dishes, attempt my Sukiyaki Recipe, Mille-Feuille Nabe, and Shabu Shabu recipe subsequent!
What’s Motsunabe?
Motsunabe (もつ鍋) is a sizzling pot dish of beef small gut (motsu) that’s a regional specialty of Hakata ward in Kyushu’s Fukuoka Metropolis. It was created throughout post-World Warfare II meals shortages to assist folks replenish on obtainable and inexpensive cuts of meat. As soon as born of necessity, consuming motsu is now mainstream, with eating places focusing on offal showing in Tokyo across the yr 2000.
Why I Love This Recipe
- An opulent soup broth: The star of motsunabe for me is the wealthy and deeply savory soup. It’s creamy from the meat small gut fats and candy from the inexperienced cabbage.
- Comforting and savory: Though traditional motsunabe is soy sauce based mostly, I season my broth with miso, garlic, and sesame seeds—my favourite umami flavors.
Components for Motsunabe
- beef small gut (motsu) – I used frozen; don’t use pork offal
- sliced pork stomach
- medium-firm tofu (momen dofu)
- inexperienced cabbage
- garlic chives (Chinese language chives or nira)
- bean sprouts
- garlic
- dried crimson chili pepper
- kosher salt, all-purpose flour (plain flour), and sake – to wash and prep the offal
- Soup:
Discover the printable recipe with measurements beneath.
The place to Purchase Beef Small Gut?
Of all of the sorts of beef offal, use solely the small gut (小腸) for motsunabe. It has loads of white fats, a gentle style, and a agency and chewy texture. Eating places at all times use contemporary, uncooked small gut for a plump motsu and wealthy, savory inventory. Take a look at the high-quality, home Japanese motsu within the picture beneath!
Dwelling cooks should purchase uncooked small gut which can be cleaned and vacuumed-sealed for comfort at supermarkets. Pre-boiled gut can be found, however a lot of the scrumptious fats has been eliminated so I wouldn’t suggest that though it looks as if a time saver.
For these of us dwelling outdoors of Japan, good-quality motsu is extraordinarily troublesome to get. I might solely discover frozen beef small gut at HMart in San Francisco. Sadly, it didn’t have white fats across the gut just like the Japanese motsu pictured above, and my kitchen was smelly for about half a day afterwards. The meals tasted nice, although! I simply must warn my readers first.
Substitutions
- Beef small gut: There isn’t any substitute for this ingredient. Don’t use pork offal as a result of it has a powerful odor and taste. You may make this dish utilizing solely pork stomach; nevertheless, it lacks deep umami and tastes nothing like motsunabe.
- Sliced pork stomach: Buy it in skinny slices or blocks at Japanese, Korean, and Chinese language markets. Should you can’t discover it, you should use leaner pork loin or your selection of protein. You can even slice a pork stomach block your self with my tutorial Find out how to Slice Meat Thinly.
- Garlic chives: Should you don’t have them, you might substitute inexperienced onions (scallions).
- Miso: You’ll be able to skip the miso taste and make a lightweight, soy sauce-flavored soup identical to the unique Hakata motsunabe. Should you pass over the miso, please style the soup and regulate the salt. See Variations beneath for different flavors.
Find out how to Make Motsunabe
Preparation
Step 1 – Slice the veggies and pork. Lower the cabbage, garlic chives, pork stomach, and tofu into bite-size items. Slice the garlic and chili pepper into skinny rounds.
Step 2 – Lower and rinse the offal. Lower the meat small gut into 1-foot (30-cm) lengths. Totally clear the within of the intestines with working faucet water.
Step 3 – Lower into small items and rub with salt. Rinse away the dust and odors with a powerful stream of faucet water.
Step 4 – Rub with flour and rinse one final time. Coat with flour and rub it in together with your hand, then wash it off. Lastly, rinse every bit effectively, inside and outside, with working water.
Step 5 – Parboil. Blanch the offal for 1 minute in water with a splash of sake. Drain and switch to a plate or tray.
Cooking
Step 6 – Construct the soup. Pour the rooster inventory, soy sauce, sake, mirin, and floor sesame seeds into the pot and convey to a simmer on medium warmth. Then, add the miso.
Step 7 – Prepare dinner. Add the cabbage and bean sprouts and convey to a simmer. Then, add the pork, intestines, tofu, garlic chives, sliced garlic, and chili pepper. Cowl and cook dinner for 10–quarter-hour.
Step 8 – Serve. When the cabbage is tender and the pork is cooked by way of, serve and luxuriate in.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Purchase frozen beef small gut right here within the US. I discovered it at my native Korean market. Should you’re in Japan, you should use parboiled home motsu discovered at supermarkets. Contemporary and uncooked Japanese motsu makes one of the best motsunabe, however it’s troublesome to supply.
- Take your time cleansing the offal. I totally rinsed every bit, one after the other, inside and outside. Don’t skip the salt and flour steps, both. They take in odors and salt additionally helps take away slime.
- Don’t parboil the offal too lengthy. I rapidly boil the motsu for just one minute. This removes impurities and extra fats so the motsunabe soup doesn’t develop into too oily.
- Prepare dinner the offal rapidly. I simmered it for simply 10–quarter-hour. It’s prepared when it puffs up and turns into plump. Should you stew it a very long time, the scrumptious fats will soften away and the motsu will develop into skinny.
- Don’t stir when you add the motsu. Should you do, it’s going to fall to the underside of the pot.
- Don’t dilute the soup. Keep away from including an excessive amount of liquid or greens with excessive moisture content material, as they’ll water down the broth’s scrumptious taste.
- Eat the motsunabe as is. The scrumptious broth is already flavored, so there’s no want so as to add ponzu sauce or some other dipping sauce. I do like to supply yuzu kosho on the desk for brightness and just a little warmth.
Variations and Customizations
“Preserve it easy” is the fundamental rule for this Fukuoka prefecture specialty. Whereas we don’t need to add substances that may dilute the soup’s taste, there are a number of methods that you would be able to customise the dish. Beneath are just a few of my favourite variations.
- Change the soup taste. You may make this flavorful sizzling pot dish with a special seasoning as a substitute of miso. The everyday number of flavors consists of unique soy sauce, salt, or spicy soup. You possibly can additionally experiment with inventive variations like kimchi flavors.
- Swap fried tofu. Swap out common tofu for fried tofu cutlets (astuage), deep-fried tofu pouches (aburaage), and even fried tofu puffs.
- Use different low-moisture greens. I like to recommend including shredded burdock root (gobo), which works effectively with offal. Onions or yams additionally work. So do enoki or shimeji mushrooms, however don’t use shiitake mushroom as a result of it has a powerful taste. Keep away from veggies with a whole lot of moisture that would dilute the fragile soup seasoning.
- Make rice porridge and ramen. After the principle course, simmer cooked Japanese rice within the wealthy and candy broth to complete the meal. You possibly can additionally use ramen, udon, or traditional champon noodles (could also be laborious to seek out). Stir in overwhelmed egg and chopped inexperienced onions, then prime every portion with shredded seaweed.
What to Serve with Motsunabe
Storage and Reheating Suggestions
To retailer: You’ll be able to preserve the leftovers in an hermetic container and preserve them within the fridge for 3 days or within the freezer for as much as a month. If you freeze it, take away the tofu as its texture will change when frozen.
To reheat: Reheat in a pot on the range over medium warmth. Should you beforehand froze it, defrost it within the fridge in a single day and add contemporary tofu when reheating the subsequent day.
Often Requested Questions
For this hotpot recipe, please use solely beef small intestines, which have a milder taste, loads of white fats, and a chewy texture.
It’s not essential, since rooster inventory serves as the bottom of the soup. Motsu wants a powerful taste broth.
Please examine the Notes beneath the recipe card for directions and ideas for cleansing.
For the Different Components
Forestall your display from going darkish
To Put together the Components
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Utilizing a sharp knife, lower out the thick core from ½ head inexperienced cabbage. Chop the cabbage into squares about 1–1½ inches (2.5–3.8 cm), then wash and dry it.
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Lower off the powerful ends of 3 oz garlic chives (Chinese language chives or Nira) and slice it into 2-inch (5-cm) items. Subsequent, slice ½ block medium-firm tofu (momen dofu) into skinny slabs.
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Thinly slice 6 cloves garlic crosswise. Lower 2 items dried crimson chili pepper into skinny rounds, discarding the seeds should you desire a much less spicy sizzling pot.
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Lower ½ lb sliced pork stomach into 2-inch (5-cm) items.
To Clear and Parboil the Offal
To Combine the Sizzling Pot Broth
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Grind 2 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle. Go away some seeds unground for texture.
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Mix 4 cups rooster inventory/broth, 3 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp sake, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 Tbsp oyster sauce in a measuring cup or bowl.
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Add the floor sesame seeds and stir to mix.
To Prepare dinner the Motsunabe
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Add the broth substances to a donabe or heavy-bottomed pot. Carry it to a simmer over medium warmth.
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Dissolve 2 Tbsp miso into the new broth. I am utilizing my favourite miso muddler and draining ladle.
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Add the entire cabbage and 6 oz bean sprouts. Cowl the pot and convey to a simmer. Tip: Don’t be concerned, it could appear to be so much at first, however they’ll finally wilt.
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As soon as simmering, add the pork stomach on one aspect and the gut on the opposite aspect, preserving the center open. Place the tofu on one finish. Lastly, place the garlic cloves, garlic chives, chili items, and sesame seeds garnish throughout the center. Cowl and cook dinner for 10–quarter-hour. When it reaches a boil, scale back the warmth to medium low and proceed to simmer.
To Serve
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When the cabbage is tender and the pork is cooked by way of, serve and luxuriate in it with optionally available yuzu kosho (Japanese citrus chili paste).
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Ending course (optionally available): After you have completed the principle course, you should use the wealthy and creamy broth to make rice porridge or ramen noodles to finish the meal.
To Retailer
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Switch the leftovers in an hermetic container and preserve within the fridge for 3 days or within the freezer for as much as a month. Take away the tofu earlier than freezing as its texture will change when frozen. Reheat in a pot on the range over medium warmth. Should you beforehand froze it, defrost it within the fridge in a single day and add contemporary tofu when reheating.
1. Rinse Totally
- Use sizzling working water to clean away any seen residue instantly after cleansing the offal.
- Pay additional consideration to the drain space, the place bits of fats or slime could accumulate.
2. Scrub with Baking Soda and Dish Cleaning soap
- Sprinkle baking soda over the sink and scrub with a sponge or brush.
- Add a little bit of dish cleaning soap to chop by way of grease and take away odors.
3. Disinfect with Vinegar or Bleach
- Spray white vinegar across the sink and let it sit for a couple of minutes earlier than rinsing. It helps neutralize odors and kill micro organism.
- To deep clear, combine a bleach resolution of 1 half bleach with 10 elements water. Then pour it across the sink, let it sit for five–10 minutes, and rinse effectively.
4. Deodorize the Drain
- Pour ½ cup baking soda into the drain adopted by ½ cup sizzling vinegar. Let it fizz for a couple of minutes, then flush with sizzling water.
- Alternatively, pour boiling water down the drain to dissolve grease buildup.
5. End with Lemon or Important Oils
- Rub a lower lemon over the sink or add just a few drops of tea tree or eucalyptus oil for a contemporary, clear scent.
