Ingredients

(for medium-size Classic-style Donabe) – 2-3 servings

(broth)

2 cups  dashi stock

3.5 oz  sake lees (soft paste is preferred)

2 tablespoons  white miso

1 tablespoon  light color soy sauce (“usukuchi shoyu”)

2/3 to 1 teaspoon  salt

(ingredients for the broth)

3/4 pound  cod filet, cut into smaller pieces, seasoned with salt

3-4 kabu (Japanese turnip), quartered

3 oz  thinly-sliced gobo (burdock root), soaked in water for 15 minutes, drained

2 oz  carrot, thinly sliced

1/2 pound  mixed mushrooms (shimeji, enoki, eryingi, etc.)

2-3 small pouches  abura-age (fried tofu pouch), blanched and squeezed out of excess moisture

2-3 thin slices  mochi (rice cake)

2-3 thin small slices  pecorino cheese

(for “shime” - end of the meal)

2 servings  Chinese noodle, blanched

condiments suggestion...shichimi peppers, ground roasted sesame seeds, minced scallion, etc.

Procedure

1. 1.  Set the ingredients to cook in the broth in a large plate.  (To make stuffed abura-age, slice along a thin side of abura-age and carefully open to make a pouch.  Cut each mochi into half and sandwich a slice of cheese.  Stuff into abura-age.  Pierce the opening with a toothpick.
   

2. 2. To make the broth, heat the dashi stock in the donabe.  In a bowl, whisk together the sake lees and a ladleful of the dashi stock from the donabe.  Once the mixture is smooth, add it to the donabe.  Add the miso, soy sauce, and salt.  (Adjust the seasoning by adding less or more salt.)
   

3. 3. Add the ingredients for the broth (half of each ingredient - start with the items which takes longer time to cook).  Once everything is cooked, serve into individual bowls with some broth, and enjoy with or without the condiment.
   

4. 4. Cook the rest of the ingredients in the broth and serve again.  (Make sure you have enough broth left if you want to cook the noodles at the end.)
   

5. 5. To cook “shime” (end of the meal course), add the blanched noodles and bean sprouts,  and cook until done.  Serve immediately with more condiments.