Hirayama and Yosenabe Regional Hotpot Distinctions

Ingredients

• For Ishikari Nabe (Hokkaido Salmon)
• 600 g salmon, bone-in portions, pre-salted 30 minutes before cooking
• 300 g daikon, peeled, sliced into rounds
• 300 g waxy potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks
• 2 cobs corn, cut into rounds
• 100 g butter, added at the table just before eating
• 150 g miso, dissolved in ladled broth before returning to pot
• 1 litre dashi, kombu or combined kombu-and-katsuobushi base, lightly seasoned
• For Chanko Nabe (Sumo Wrestlers' Hotpot)
• 500 g chicken thigh, bone-in, cut into large pieces
• 300 g chicken meatballs, formed from minced chicken, standard sumo preparation
• 300 g firm tofu, cut into large cubes
• 400 g mixed vegetables, cabbage, napa, burdock, carrot — dense varieties prioritised
• 1.5 litres clear chicken dashi, not miso-based; light soy seasoning only
• For Shime (Finishing Course)
• 300 g cooked rice or udon noodles, added to residual broth after main ingredients are eaten
• For Yosenabe (Seasonal Improvisation)
• 600 g seasonal local seafood and vegetables, defined by market availability; broth is dashi or soy-based
• For Kamo Nabe (Kyoto Duck)
• 500 g duck, sliced
• 1 yuzu, zest and juice, used as counterpoint to duck richness
• 30 g mitsuba, Japanese trefoil, added at the finish
• 1 litre delicate dashi, kombu-forward, lightly seasoned

Method

1. 1
   Salt the salmon portions evenly and set aside for 30 minutes. This draw of moisture firms the flesh and concentrates surface flavour before the broth is involved.
2. 2
   Bring the dashi to a gentle simmer in the nabe pot at the table or on the stove. Season conservatively — the broth will concentrate throughout the meal as proteins, fats, and aromatics accumulate. An over-seasoned starting broth becomes undrinkable by the shime.
3. 3
   Add dense vegetables first — potatoes, daikon, carrot, burdock, corn. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes before any protein enters the pot. The vegetables should yield to a skewer but hold their shape; premature addition of fish or greens at this stage is the defining error of the inexperienced cook.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies: for Ishikari nabe, add the pre-salted salmon portions to the simmering broth and cook only until the flesh just turns opaque at the thickest part — the salmon must not flake apart into the broth. For Chanko nabe, add chicken thigh pieces and meatballs at this stage; the broth should run clear when the meat is pierced. For Kamo nabe, lay duck slices in a single layer and remove as soon as the pink disappears. Each protein has its own threshold, and crossing it degrades both the protein and the cumulative broth.
5. 5
   Add delicate greens, tofu, and any remaining garnish — mitsuba for kamo nabe, napa cabbage for chanko — only in the final minutes. They require no more than two to three minutes; they should be wilted and heated through, not dissolved.
6. 6
   For Ishikari nabe: ladle a cup of hot broth into a bowl, dissolve the miso into it completely, then return the mixture to the pot. Stir gently. Add the butter in a single block at the table just before eating — it will melt on contact with the hot broth. The butter-miso combination with salmon is the Hokkaido signature.
7. 7
   When the main ingredients are eaten, the residual broth is now the most flavourful element of the meal — concentrated, fat-enriched, and carrying the full history of what has cooked in it. Add cooked rice or udon noodles and simmer briefly until they have absorbed the broth. The shime is considered the most delicious part; it must not be served before the broth has had sufficient time to accumulate this depth.