Whale Recipes
Hari-hari-nabe
(Source: "Mrs. Ohnishi's Whale Cuisine")
Nabe is what Japanese stews are all prepared in and served at the table from one pot; Nabe is also the name of the kind of pot which Japanese use for this meal.
Hari-hari-nabe uses whale meat and mizuna (potherb mustard) as its main ingredients; these are cooked in bonito broth.
You may enjoy the leftover broth by cooking noodles or rice porridge in it.
Broth Ingredients:
2000 ml water
80 g dried bonito shavings
70 ml sweet sake
20 ml soy sauce
Preparation of broth
Boil 2-liters of water in nabe stew pot.
Add 80g of dried bonito shavings in hot water at one time, and boil without overflowing for about 10minutes
Remove from heat, and pour through sieve to remove shavings.
Return broth to pot, and add 70ml of sweet sake and 20ml of soy sauce.
Bring to the boil, and turn off heat.
Quality bonito shavings are recommended for a delicious broth.
Meat Ingredients:
80 g Red meat per person
Katakuri powder (water chestnut)
Preparation of meat
Coat red meat in katakuri (water chestnut) powder, and dip quickly in boiling water.
This preparatory step is highly recommended, for the meat absorbs the broth taste quickly.
Have 80g of red meat per serving.
Cut into 5mm thick bite-size pieces.
Coat lightly with katakuri powder, and press with hand to make the powder stick to the meat.
Remove excess powder.
Bring water to the boil in a pot, dip meat in hot water and mix quickly.
Remove meat and dip in ice cold water.
Wipe off moisture.
Preparation of mizuna (potherb mustard)
Mizuna is a leafy vegetable that goes very well with whale meat and is highly recommended.
Wash a bunch of mizuna under running water to remove sand and dirt.
Cut off roots, and cut crosswise into 50mm to 60mm pieces.
Dip in cold water to restore crispness.
Drain thoroughly.
Preparation of nabe
Pour bonito broth into aluminum or earthenware pot.
Add jalapeno pepper or, if no available, chili pepper, along with ground black pepper to taste.
Freshly ground black pepper is recommended to add aroma.
Cooking noodles after stew
After removing all meat and vegetable from the stew broth, bring to the boil, and add noodles.
Simmer for a while.
Serve noodles with broth in individual bowls; garnish with minced green onions and konbu (kelp) shavings.
The piping hot noodles are a welcome change after a potful of stew.
Cooking rice porridge after stew
Rice porridge is another way of enjoying the broth left after the stew.
Bring the broth to the boil, add cooked rice, and boil.
Pour in beaten eggs.
Turn off heat, and mix.
Serve in individual bowls with diced green onions and finely shredded nori seaweed.