Motsu Nabe and Offal Culture in Japanese Cuisine

Ingredients

• 800 g beef intestines, thoroughly cleaned under cold running water
• 200 g beef tongue, cleaned, sliced
• 200 g beef heart, cleaned, sliced
• 1 small head cabbage, cut into large pieces
• 16–24 cloves (4–6 per person) garlic, raw, left whole or halved
• For the broth
• 1.2 litres dashi or water, used as the starting base
• 80 g dark miso (hatcho-adjacent), for the Hakata miso version
• 400 g chanpon noodles, for the final noodle course
• To serve
• 1 tsp per portion yuzukosho, fermented yuzu-chilli paste, served on the side at table

Method

1. 1
   Rinse the intestines, tongue, and heart thoroughly under cold running water, working through any folds and cavities until the water runs clear. Bring a large pot of unsalted water to a full boil. Add all offal and blanch for 3–5 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse under cold running water, removing surface proteins and stopping the cooking. The rinsed offal should show no residual blood, and the blanching water should be discarded entirely.
2. 2
   Pour the dashi or water into the nabe pot or a wide heavy pot and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Whisk in the dark miso until fully dissolved. Add the blanched intestines, tongue, and heart. Simmer uncovered, allowing the offal's collagen and flavour to enrich the broth progressively — the liquid will deepen in colour and viscosity. Skim any foam that rises in the first few minutes.
3. 3
   Add the raw garlic cloves to the simmering broth. Continue to cook steadily, allowing the garlic to mellow from pungent to sweet as it absorbs into the broth. The offal should be approached with tenderness — the intestines begin to soften but are not yet fully yielding.
4. 4
   In the final 8–10 minutes of cooking, add the cabbage. Stir once to submerge. Simmer until the cabbage is just tender and has absorbed the broth's colour and depth, but retains a slight structure — it must not collapse. The broth at this stage is viscous, deeply savoury, and carries a mineral-sweet offal complexity that no lean meat can produce.
5. 5
   Bring the pot to the table at a rolling boil — the steam rising with the offal aroma is part of the presentation. Serve each portion into bowls. When the offal and vegetables are consumed, add the chanpon noodles directly to the collagen-enriched broth remaining in the pot. Simmer until the noodles are cooked through and have absorbed the broth. The noodles should be swollen, deeply flavoured, and carry the full complexity of the spent broth.
6. 6
   Place a small measure of yuzukosho beside each bowl at table. Each diner applies it to their portion as desired — the fermented yuzu-chilli paste provides sharp, bright contrast to the fat-rich broth.