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Mille-Feuille Nabe

Japanese Hotpot with Napa Cabbage and thinly sliced pork belly arranged in layers in a donabe of casserole. Dashi serves as the cooking broth that turns this into a lovely dish perfect for cold weather.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time15 minutes
Course: dinner, Main Course, One dish meals
Cuisine: Asian, Japanese
Keyword: Mille-feuille, napa cabbage, Pork Belly, soup

Equipment

  • 1 donabe If you have one, but any casserole type pot will do.

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 1 napa cabbage medium size should do
  • 1-1½ lb Thinly sliced pork belly smaller the pot the less you will need
  • 1 bunch of mushrooms like enoki or shiimeji optional
  • Korean Radish or Daikon, thinly sliced optional

Dashi

  • 1 knob ginger 1 inch, 2.5 cm
  • 5 cups dashi See post for dashi options!
  • 2 Tbsp sake cut in half or omit if using Shiro Dashi
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce cut in half or omit if using Shiro Dashi
  • ½ tsp kosher salt Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt

Finishing Touches

  • green onions, diced for garnish
  • Chili oil or Shichim Togarashi at the table
  • Rice to serve with hot pot or boil some noodles to have with the flavorful broth!
  • Any kind of eggs-Ramen, Mayak or raw that you crack and cook in the broth

Instructions

  • Remove leaves carefully from the base, wash and drain well. Don’t throw away any leaves that naturally came off while rinsing. We’ll use these leaves later on. If you happen to get a ginormous cabbage cut in half or quarters lengthwise. I usually buy small ones so I use the whole leaf. Pat them dry before next step.
  • Layer the pork belly and napa cabbage by placing one slice between each of the leaves. Cover leaves with pork belly, trim if necessary to fit. Repeat 3-4 times depending on size of pot.
  • Cut each napa cabbage wedge into 3-4 pieces each about 2 to 2½ inches (5-6 cm) long. Each section should not be taller than your cooking pot. Try to keep the layers of napa cabbage and pork belly neatly stacked as you slice.
  • Next, start stacking the ingredients in a donabe, hot pot, or regular 10-inch pot. I used a shallow Staub pot with the grill top. Turn the stacks on their side as you pack them so the pink and green layers are visible. Start from the outer edges of the pot and work your way toward the center. Place the thicker cabbage leaves near the outside edge and the tender leaves in the center. Make sure that you pack the pot tightly as the layers will become loose once the ingredients start to cook.
  • If you don’t have enough layers to pack the pot tightly, consider using a smaller pot or place other ingredients in the center. I Like to stuff enoki mushrooms or shimeji mushrooms in the center. Or use slices of radish to surround the mushrooms.
  • Make you dashi. Don’t reduce the salt If you are using dashi from packets since the napa cabbage will release liquid during cooking and dilute the soup. If using Shiro Dashi that is seasoned omit half the soy sauce and sake. Taste your broth, it should not be too salty.
  • Pour the broth into the pot with the napa cabbage and pork belly. Start cooking on high heat. Once boiling, skim off the foam and fat on the surface using a fine-mesh skimmer. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and cook covered until the napa cabbage is tender and the pork belly is cooked through, roughly 8-10 minutes.

Garnish

  • Garnish with chopped green onion/scallion, have shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice) on table or sprinkle on top of dish. Serve while hot with rice or boil up some noodles to serve in the delicious broth!
    I like adding a ramen egg or a Mayak egg t round it out.