Monkfish Anko Liver Hot Pot Tohoku Winter

Ingredients

• 1 whole (approx. 2–3 kg) Anglerfish (anko), winter-caught, November–February; butchered by dosaburi hanging method into seven parts: liver, skin, ovaries, stomach, gills, fins, and flesh
• For the broth base
• 200 g Anglerfish liver (ankimo), separated from whole fish; handled without crushing
• 80 g Hatcho miso or kome miso, robust miso; not white miso
• 1 litre Water
• Vegetables (supporting)
• 200 g Napa cabbage (hakusai), cut into rough pieces
• 100 g Burdock root (gobo), shaved into thin rounds
• 100 g Firm tofu, cut into cubes
• 2 stalks Spring onion (negi), sliced on the diagonal
• At the table
• to taste Ponzu
• to taste Momiji oroshi, chili-seasoned grated daikon
• Shime (finishing course)
• as required Cooked rice or udon noodles, added to the remaining broth after the hot pot is finished

Method

1. 1
   Suspend the whole anglerfish by its jaw over a large basin using the dosaburi hanging method. Butcher the fish in this suspended position, separating all seven tools: liver (ankimo), skin, ovaries, stomach, gills, fins, and flesh. The jaw suspension prevents the body weight from crushing the liver against a board. The process is complete when each of the seven parts lies clean and separate, the liver intact and unpierced.
2. 2
   Set a donabe or heavy pot over medium heat without oil. Place the liver directly into the dry pot and pan-fry it, pressing gently, until the fat renders visibly into the base of the pot and the exterior of the liver turns pale and slightly set. This is where the dish lives or dies: only a properly rendered liver fat, cooked before any liquid is added, creates the stable emulsion that coats the finished broth in its characteristic creamy, oceanic layer. A raw liver added to cold broth will not emulsify and the defining richness will not form.
3. 3
   Dissolve the miso directly into the rendered liver fat in the pot, working it in with a spatula or the back of a spoon until it forms a uniform paste with the fat. Add the water gradually, stirring to lift the miso-liver base from the bottom. Bring to a gentle simmer. The broth is ready when it is uniformly clouded and faintly creamy in colour, carrying the scent of both the miso and the fish fat.
4. 4
   Add the denser components first: stomach, flesh, and burdock root. Simmer until the flesh yields to a chopstick without resistance and the stomach has firmed to a tender chew.
5. 5
   Add the ovaries, gills, napa cabbage, tofu, and spring onion. Simmer briefly. The delicate components — skin and fins — go in last. They require only moments; they are done when the skin has turned just translucent and the fins are supple but not collapsed. Remove from heat immediately at this point.
6. 6
   Bring the pot to the table over a portable burner to maintain a gentle simmer throughout the meal. Set ponzu and momiji oroshi alongside for diners to temper the richness at will. When the hot pot is finished, add cooked rice or udon to the remaining broth for the shime course; the broth, now concentrated, coats every grain.