Chanko-Nabe Sumo Hotpot Tradition

Ingredients

• For the broth
• 2 litres dashi, prepared; chicken carcass dashi preferred
• 80 ml soy sauce, shoyu-style base
• 60 ml sake
• For the tsukune (chicken meatballs)
• 600 g chicken thigh mince
• 20 g fresh ginger, finely grated
• 30 ml sake
• For the pot
• 400 g chicken thighs, bone-in, cut into large pieces
• 300 g firm tofu, cut into large cubes
• 150 g burdock root (gobo), scrubbed and cut on the diagonal
• 200 g daikon, peeled and cut into rounds
• 3 negi (Japanese long onion), cut into 4 cm lengths
• 200 g shiitake or mixed mushrooms, stems trimmed
• 150 g chrysanthemum greens (shungiku), roughly trimmed
• 2 mochi (rice cakes), halved; optional, added late
• For the chanko-meshi close
• 400 g cooked short-grain rice, to stir into remaining broth at the meal's end

Method

1. 1
   Combine the chicken carcass dashi, soy sauce, and sake in a large donabe or heavy-based pot. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. The broth should be lightly savoury and pale amber in colour — taste it now; it will deepen as the pot cooks.
2. 2
   Combine the chicken mince, grated ginger, and sake in a bowl. Mix firmly until the paste binds and becomes slightly tacky to the touch. Form into balls of approximately 35–40 g each. The mixture should hold its shape without crumbling when pressed lightly between the fingers.
3. 3
   Add the burdock root and daikon to the simmering broth first — these dense root vegetables require the longest cooking. Simmer uncovered for 12–15 minutes until the daikon offers no resistance when pierced with a chopstick.
4. 4
   Add the bone-in chicken thigh pieces and lower the heat to a steady simmer. Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the broth has taken on the rendered fat from the bones, becoming fuller and slightly unctuous on the surface — this is where the dish lives or dies: a thin, pale broth that has not absorbed the rendered chicken fat will not carry the protein density and depth the pot demands.
5. 5
   Drop the tsukune directly into the simmering broth. They will firm and set within 8–10 minutes; they are ready when they float and feel springy rather than yielding when pressed with the back of a spoon.
6. 6
   Add the tofu, mushrooms, negi, and mochi if using. Simmer for a further 5 minutes. The negi should be translucent and soft at the white end; the mushrooms should smell deeply savoury.
7. 7
   Lay the chrysanthemum greens across the surface of the pot last. Cover for 90 seconds only; the greens are done when they have just wilted and turned bright, yielding green — they must not cook past this point or the colour and texture are lost.
8. 8
   Serve the pot at the table for communal eating, ladle by ladle. At the meal's close, stir cooked rice into the remaining broth to make chanko-meshi. The rice is ready when it has absorbed the broth and swelled into a thick, savoury porridge that coats the back of a spoon.