Mizutaki

Namiko Hirasawa Chen’s mizutaki draws on the Kansai-style hot pot her mother cooked. Her selected version combines bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs with a separate portion of boneless, skinless thighs in kombu broth.

Kombu steeps in the main stock water. The bone-in chicken is separately pre-boiled and rinsed before joining that stock; the boneless pieces, cooking sake and ginger slices are then added.

The same broth simmers with the chicken, with kombu and later ginger removed. Napa cabbage, negi, carrot ribbons, mizuna, maitake, shimeji and tofu are prepared on platters.

Cooking continues at the table, beginning with dense cabbage, tofu, mushrooms and negi. Carrot ribbons follow, then the leafy vegetables, as portions are eaten and the pot replenished with the remaining ingredients.

Supplied ponzu accompanies the cooked food, with scallion, yuzu kosho and seven-spice optional in the dipping bowls. The author describes light kombu-chicken broth, citrusy sauce and a warm meal shared with family and friends.