Best uses for a donabe pot?

23 comments

1. I was gifted this beautiful donabe pot. I’ve never used one! What are some good beginner recipes for getting the hang of cooking with one? I would also appreciate any general advice for care and maintenance.

2. As for care of the donabe https://toirokitchen.com/pages/how-to-take-care-of-your-donabe

   Start with hot pot. It’s the donabes best use imo. I love sukiyaki and it’s pretty simple to make if you have the right ingredients and most of them aren’t super hard to find.

   Need some shaved beef (think phili cheese steak meat)
   Dashi or hondashi powder
   Sake
   Mirin (or sugar with some extra sake)
   Shoyu
   Vegetables (these are sort of up to you, I like mushrooms, cabbage, tofu.)
   Many also use thinks like shiratake and mitsuba, but they won’t ruin your recipe if you don’t have them.

   Essentially toss everything in the donabe. Use roughly equal parts sake, mirin, shoyu to taste, cover about half way with dashi, and cook until tender.

3. Never used one, so I donabe use case yet

4. Make sukiyaki or katsudon

5. making yudofu

6. Do like the Sumo wrestlers and make [Chanko Nabe](https://www.justonecookbook.com/chanko-nabe-sumo-stew/)!

7. Nabe (hotpot), okayu (porridge), zousui (porridge from the broth of nabe usually), udon just to name a few.

8. I once visited a friend’s house and his mom cooked curry with the leftover broth. It tasted so amazing that I always keep half of the broth for that.

9. Get a [portable gas burner](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-1-burner-high-performance-butane-countertop-range-portable-stove/472E10SL.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=GoogleShopping&gclid=Cj0KCQjw0oyYBhDGARIsAMZEuMu_IZyyrVYiSBqBa5Js1xTSuiOO76giBKeiwkVEnyj9lF9npTdwppIaAsBsEALw_wcB) for it 🙂 have fun! as others have mentioned, [hot pot](https://www.justonecookbook.com/tags/hot-pot/) is fantastic.

10. +1 for hot pot and shabu shabu – but I also use it to make rice since I don’t have a rice cooker and it makes amazing rice every time!!

    Edit: punctuation

11. Just one cookbook is great! There’s also this site: [Happy Donabe Life](https://happydonabelife.com/donabe-recipes/)

12. To sit there and be the cutest item in the kitchen

13. Sukiyaki, hot pot, or a nabe like mille-feuille nabe

14. Broccoli and cheese casserole

15. Throw some donabe in (whatever that is). Set it, and forget it!

16. If you can get your hands on fish cakes, making oden could be fun and super easy! As someone else said, can’t go wrong with Just One Cookbook’s recipes

17. Can’t remember what it’s called in Japanese, but but if you cook rice with fish or chicken (or whatever) and chopped veggies, ginger & the usual soy sauce, mirin & sake, it will come out delicious.
    Also great for cooking dried beans. I think the starch left behind is good for it.
    Also great for braising meats

18. It’s so beautiful! You should make sukiyaki 🍲

19. The nabe, often eaten in winter in Japan, is completed by adding your favorite vegetables and meat together and simmering them with the broth ^^

20. My wife was gifted one by my mother and has made amazing roasts with it. Can’t quite tell you how she does it as I’m not the cook the house lol. But, my wife always says it’s so easy. Experiment, don’t think you can go wrong. Good luck!

21. As a proud owner of a donabe and gas burner, hot pot dishes like yosenabe, Shabu Shabu and mizutaki are usually what I do during the cold winters. Reluctant to cook sukiyaki as you normally cook that in a tetsunabe and the dark sweet sauce would probably affect the donabe over time, hence I keep it to light clear broth dishes. It doesn’t get a lot of airtime in the kitchen due to it being a winter item but I love mine and try to preserve it for many many years.

22. Check out Donabe: Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking [A One-Pot Cookbook] https://g.co/kgs/cBnYHJ

    This is the one I use and it has some incredible recipes. Specifically the yuzu kosho and ponzu steak recipe is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever made.

23. Remember to season it first! Have fun, they’re great!