Easy-to-Prepare Frying Pan Hot Pot; Prepare for Coming Cold with 2 Steamy Hot Pot Recipes

By Rio Itami / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

13:00 JST, December 1, 2024

It’s that season again: the season when all you can think about is a nice, warm hot pot. How does a simple hot pot that you can make in a frying pan sound? Cooking expert Ryuta Kijima shares a recipe for such a dish, which goes well with rice.

“Compared to heavy, bulky earthenware pots, frying pans are easier to handle and heat up quickly. You can enjoy hot pots more casually with a frying pan,” Kijima said.

A frying pan with a diameter of 26 centimeters and a depth of 7 centimeters can be used to prepare the two dishes he presents here. Let’s start with steamed salt chanko with chicken meatballs.

Steaming reduces the volume of the cabbage, making it easier to eat even when prepared in large quantities.

The balance between the sweetness of the cabbage and the saltiness of the dish is exquisite. You can substitute the Chinese cabbage and still make a delicious dish. Serve with ponzu or yuzu pepper to taste.

The second dish Kijima recommends is pork sukiyaki stew. This dish has a sweet and savory flavor, but the taste is light.

If you use thinly sliced pork for shabu-shabu, you won’t have to worry about the meat becoming tough, even if you cook it for a long time.

Adding udon noodles is recommended to finish. This dish has less liquid than regular hot pots, so there is a reduced risk of taking in too much salt.

“Just add the ingredients, put the lid on and heat it up. You can also arrange it with your favorite ingredients,” Kijima said.

Steamed salt chanko with chicken meatballs

Ingredients (Serves 2):

• 150 grams ground chicken
• ¼ cabbage (300 grams)
• ½ bunch nira chives
• 1 sheet aburaage fried tofu
• 3 tbsp breadcrumbs
• Yuzu pepper and ponzu tangy citrus juice to taste



Directions:

1. Cut the cabbage into about 5-centimeter pieces and the aburaage fried tofu into bite-sized pieces.

2. Spread them out in the frying pan.

3. Add 300 milliliters of water, 2 tablespoons of mirin and ½ a teaspoon of salt.

4. Cover and bring to a boil.

5. Add breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon of water, ½ a tablespoon of potato starch and a pinch of salt to the ground chicken and knead together.

6. Roll the meat into 8 equal balls and put them in a frying pan. Cover with a lid and steam over low-medium heat for 5 minutes.

7. Steaming chicken meatballs makes them fluffier than simmering. Check that they are cooked through by inserting a chopstick into the meat or breaking them open.

8. Cut the nira chives into 5-centimeter lengths and place them on top of the ingredients. Cover the pan with a lid and let it steam for a short period to complete the process.

Pork sukiyaki stew



Ingredients (Serves 2):

• 150 grams pork belly for shabu-shabu
• 100 grams shimeji mushrooms (stalks removed)
• 100 grams shirataki konnyaku strings (bitterness removed)
• ½ block grilled tofu
• ½ bunch shungiku chrysanthemum leaves







Directions:

1. Put 200 millimeters of water, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 1½ tablespoons of sugar into a frying pan.

2. Spread the pork out in the frying pan.

3. Add the shirataki to the pan along with the separated shimeji mushrooms and bite-sized pieces of grilled tofu.

4. Put a lid on the pan and heat.

5. When the ingredients come to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes over medium-low heat.

6. Remove the lid and add the shungiku chrysanthemum leaves cut into 5-centimeter pieces.

7. Mix quickly and cover with the lid again and steam for little while.