Warm Your Body and Mind with Nabe, Japan’s Delicious Hot Pot
Onabe – this is the go-to food for Japanese people during the cold months of winter, and it’s especially delicious in combination with a drink or two, and a lot of friends to share with! We’ve selected the very best of hot pot creations, from classic to creative, and even stumbled upon some that will take you right to Hawaii. Figuratively, of course. The more, the merrier; the hotter, the better!
1. The Perfect Combination: Ramen Broth, Hot Pot, and Fresh Fish!
Domiso is a well-established restaurant in Tokyo that mainly focuses on miso-style ramen but also features a very delicious miso broth hot pot on the menu – and if luck is on your side and the fresh catch of the day just came in, you’ll be able to enjoy fresh fish cooked in that very pot! For shime, the practice of enjoying the leftover broth, you’ll of course be served Domiso’s own noodles – a refined taste that cannot be compared to any kind of other ramen shop, and one that can only be found at Domiso in Hatchobori.
Domiso Hatchobori
3-9-6 Hatchobori, Chuo-ku. Tokyo-to 104-0032
2. Warm, Delicious, and Relaxing: Standing Bar Nabe in Osaka!
For all by-yourself people out there, we’ve found Osaka’s two best standing bars that also serve incredibly delicious and quite rare hot pot variations. And the best part about those? They can be had for as little as 380 yen per bowl, making just the right snack when enjoying a nice, quiet drink by yourself. So when you’re looking to warm yourself up while touring the streets of Osaka, make sure to stop by.
3. About to Boom: Hawaii-Style Hot Pot!
Honolulu’s favorite hot pot dish, “Hawaiian nabe” has made its debut and already has people lining up to get a taste! From the soup to the toppings, this unique concept lets you choose your very own nabe just as you like it best – there truly are no boundaries to your hot pot creativity!
ALOHA TABLE
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4. Don’t Eat Up: The Unique Shime-Set that Unites Nabe and Ramen
Let’s be honest, the best part about Japanese hot pot is shime, the practice of dipping noodles or rice in the remaining soup of the nabe dish. For all of you shime lovers, we’ve found one of Tokyo’s most unique offers, only available on the lunch menu! Presented with a gas stove and a beautiful pot full of nabe, one gets really excited just by looking at it. After cooking the hot pot right in front of your eyes, make sure to leave some soup for the delicious shime-ramen!
Torizono
Grandool Roppongi B1F, 7-18-6 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo-to 106-0032
5. Firm on the Outside, Soft on the Inside: Getting Addicted to Gyoza Nabe!
Let’s take a look at a nabe specialty that has become incredibly popular in the last years: cooked gyoza, or Chinese dumplings. This is a nabe style that originates in Southern Kyushu’s Fukuoka and has conquered Japan rather quickly – now, the specialty can be enjoyed in Tokyo as well.
The thick, flavorful soup gives the slightly chewy outside of the gyoza a unique, delicious taste while making the filling soft and juicy and once you’ve tried gyoza nabe, we guarantee you won’t be able to stop! Make sure to savor this delicacy during a cold winter.
Kyushu-han
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6. Warms From the Inside: Fresh, Spicy Offal Hot Pot
In the last decade, offal hot pot has become incredibly popular specifically among beauty-conscious people as offal is said to have a whole lot of collagen – and collagen, in turn, is said to have a beautifying effect on your skin. As such, you’ll come across many a offal hot pot offer, either called horumon or motsu nabe – it’s the exact same dish but called either horumon or motsu depending on the region.
Now, why not try the trend for yourself? We’ve found a particularly delicious horumon nabe at Chiritori-Nabe in Kyoto. The restaurant serves their offal spicy and fresh in an appealing square-shaped pan, featuring plenty of healthy vegetables and a secret sauce that’ll make your mouth water! We recommend rice porridge as the shime ingredient as it goes fantastically with the sauce. Especially during winter, this spicy pot will keep you nice and warm!
Chiritori-Nabe
59-2 Nishimachi Ichijo-Dori Ommae Nishiiru, Kamigyo-Ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto-fu 602-0000
7. Dinner for One: Fancy Ishinabe Lunch at Ginza
Ginza is known to be one of Tokyo’s fanciest neighborhoods, with a lot of upscale restaurants as well as shops. We’ve found just the right place for that certain high-class Ginza feel but for a reasonable price – and nabe is on the lunch menu, of course! This spot is especially recommended for people who prefer to dine alone.
Ishinabe, a nabe dish served in a hot stone pot, is served here piping hot with plenty of vegetables and soft, juicy offal. In addition, a colorful salad and drink bar is also available.
Hakata Hotaru
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8. Special Recommendation for Ladies’ Night Out: Wild Game Hot Pot!
Last but not least, we’d like to introduce you to a very unique nabe specialty: jibie nabe, or hot pot with wild game. The fresh game cuisine of this restaurant is incredibly delicious and a recommendation to each and every person but specifically to female meat lovers: the joshikai all-you-can-drink course, which means ladies’ night out course, is available for a whopping 3,000 yen – so what are you waiting for? Enjoy various kinds of game in savory nabe dishes!
Rotomatagi
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