Ingredients

(for medium-size Classic-style Donabe) – 3-4 servings

(broth)

1  medium-size onion, minced

1 clove  garlic, thinly sliced

1 knob  ginger, thinly sliced

1/4 cup  sake

1 can (1 pound)  diced tomatoes

1 liter  Chinese-style chicken stock (homemade or store-purchased powder with water)

2 tablespoons  mirin

5 tablespoons  light-color soy sauce (“usukuchi shoyu”)

1.5 - 2 tablespoons  nam pla (fish sauce)

1 tablespoon  black vinegar (“kurozu”)

(ingredients for the broth)

3/4 pound  black cod, cut into smaller pieces

3/4 pound  kurobuta pork, shabu shabu slice

7-8 oz  tofu, sliced

mixed mushrooms, such as shiitake, enoki, and shimeji

some carrot slices

some snow peas

some cilantro

(for “shime” - end of the meal)

2 servings  Chinese noodle, blanched

some bean sprouts, cleaned

some minced scallion

condiment (optional)...chunky la-yu (homemade or store-purchased)

Procedure

1. 1. To make the broth, saute the onion, garlic, and ginger in the donabe until the onion is soft.
   

2. 2. Add the sake and reduce by more than half.
   

3. 3. Transfer the above to a blender.  Add the tomatoes (with the juice), and puree until very smooth.
   

4. 4. Transfer the mixture back to the donabe and add the chicken stock, mirin, soy sauce, nam pla, and black vinegar.  Bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to simmer.
   

5. 5. 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.
   

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

7. 7. To cook “shime” (end of the meal course), add the blanched noodles and bean sprouts,  and cook until done.  Serve immediately with some minced scallion.