Winter Food

Hot & Spicy Fermented Cabbage Nabe

Another snow day called for hot soup.

This one is made from vegan Kimchi and is so quick and easy to make.

A Donabe pot is what a lot of people in Japan use to cook with as it means everything just goes in one pot. They are made of special clay for use over an open flame. Quite a lot of people in japan have limited kitchen space and using a donabe with a one ring gas burner stove makes for an easy simple meal.

Also there is nothing better than serving up your meal into bowls straight from your donabe on the dining table.

If you do not have a donabe pot this dish can easily be made on the stove with any pan or pot.

First sauté some shiitake and maitake mushrooms in a little toasted sesame oil. Add to this some carrots cut into quarters, chopped celery, a small red chilli pepper diced and some chopped green onion or leek or just normal onion . Then add tomato purée about two tablespoons and top up your pot with water. Add two heaped tablespoon of kimchi or other fermented cabbage. Maybe check out a company in the UK called Hurly Burly I used their jalapeño and oregano fermented slaw in this dish. Also Biona organic do a vegan kimchi or you could use sauerkraut. I then added two good handfuls of beansprouts and some chopped nappa cabbage. Finally some nice big pieces of firm tofu to soak up all that lovely juice.

Put the lid on and let it simmer down.

I served mine with rice and added some schichimi powder for extra warmth if you like it even more hot add some chilli oil.

A perfect cosy meal.