Nabemono

Nabemono is the name encompassing numerous Japanese one-pot dishes, cooked with a variety of ingredients. In restaurants, they are usually prepared tableside and served to the guests. The name derives from the traditional pot in which the ingredients are cooked, called nabe, while mono means things, referring to an array of ingredients used in the dish. Nabemono is primarily a communal dish, in which the pot is placed in front of the guests and filled with dashi broth, sake, and soy sauce. A myriad of ingredients, meat, seafood, vegetables, and noodles, are placed on the table and subsequently placed in the pot. When cooked, guests fill their individual bowls with broth and other ingredients. When the first pot is finished, the other is filled, until all ingredients are used. Usually, a bowl of ponzu sauce is placed on the table for dipping. Nabemono also includes dishes such as yudofu, when only the soft and silky tofu is placed in the bowl, and motsunabe, in which animal offal is cooked in the fragrant broth. This classic Japanese technique is found in most traditional restaurants, where it is usually served during cold winter months.