This Japanese hot pot dish has a thousand layers of goodness!
When we first ate this at @aimori_nihonryori (the restaurant had closed down), we knew we had to learn how to cook this ourselves.
Named after the French pastry (literally meaning “thousand leaves”), the Mille-Feuille Nabe features pork belly layered in between cabbage leaves.
This dish is also called 重ね鍋 (layered pot) or simply Hakusai Nabe (白菜鍋) – cabbage hotpot. Regardless, a hotpot by any other name will still taste as delicious!
This one-pot dish is quick and easy to prepare. The main ingredients are:-
1️⃣ Napa cabbage
2️⃣ Pork belly
3️⃣ Dashi stock
This is such a wholesome meal and goes very well with a bowl of warm rice . Note that the dashi stock provides a pretty mild flavour to the broth, so the ponzu-based dipping sauce is a must to provide some tanginess. This nabe is perfect for a quick weeknight meal.
Ponzu-bssed dipping sauce
We followed @justonecookbook ‘s recipe and incorporated some tips from @adamliaw.
While this is a base recipe, you can also add mushrooms or carrots. You can also substitute pork with beef.
KEY TIPS:
☑️ We follow Adam’s tips and season each layer of cabbage/pork with salt and pepper.
☑️ We used sliced pork belly intended for shabu-shabu found at our local grocer.
☑️ Make sure you pack in the layers into the pot as tightly as possible (starting from the outer edge and moving to the middle) as the cabbage will soften as it cooks.
☑️ Don’t throw away the loose leaves – place them in the middle.
☑️ We used bonito-kelp dashi as recommended for its mild flavour.
You can check out our Instagram post for videos and step-by-step instructions here.
![Mille-Feuille Nabeミルフィーユ鍋 [Recipe]](https://thokohmakan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20201024133148_IMG_1999-scaled-683x1024.jpg)
Mille-Feuille Nabeミルフィーユ鍋 [Recipe]
Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy2
servings15
minutes10
minutesHealthy and super delicious Japanese hotpot.
Ingredients
1/2 napa cabbage
300g pork belly, thinly sliced
salt & pepper
- Soup
1/2-inch ginger, thinly sliced
600ml water mixed with dashi stock (we used bonito + kelp dashi)
1 tbsp sake
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt, or adjust to taste
- Dipping sauce
1/2 stalk scallion, cut into 1cm length
ponzu sauce
shichimi tagarashi (Japanese seven spice)
Directions
- Wash cabbage thoroughly and cut into two, lengthwise. After washing, do not throw away any loose leaves.
- Place a slice of pork belly in between the cabbage leaves. Seaon with some salt and pepper for each layer.
- Once done, cut the napa cabbage into 2-2.5 inch pieces. Remove core parts of the cabbage.
- Pack the cabbage/pork belly pieces into the pot. Start from the outer edges and work your way to the middle. They layers should be packed tightly. Place any loose leaves in the centre.
- Combine soup ingredients and pour into the pot. Turn on high heat. Once Reduce to medium heat when it begins to boil, and cover with lid. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Serve with dipping sauce when done.
