Mille-Feuille Nabe
Inspired by a YouTube video (I've since lost the link, but look up "mille-feuille nabe" and you'll find tons of results, I was drawn in by the beauty of the dish with all of layers. I love hotpot, and this looked extra aesthetic, so why not try it.
Ingredients
- Shabu shabu sliced pork
- A large head of napa (or two smaller heads)
- Enough broth to fill the pot after all the goodies are in there. It's probably ok to use water too since you can dip your hotpot yums into a sauce for more flavor as you're eating.
- Any extras you like, like enoki mushroom
Methodology
Peel off the napa cabbage leaves and wash them well.
For the layering, do we'll have 5 layers per segment, like this:
cabbage - meat - cabbage - meat - cabbage.
In some cases, you might want to use more meat to cover the length of the leaf, but no need to make it perfect.
Cut each long layered into thirds and start placing them in your pot, slightly stacking and staggering them in a ring.
It helped me to use a jar to hold the last piece I placed to keep it from moving as I prepped the next few layered sections to add in.
You're done with the pot is full! I think it's better to err on a tighter pot than keeping the layers loose so that the shape is maintained AND you'll have more deliciousness to eat.
If you have extra roof in the middle, you can add things like mushroom, tofu, or other veggies.
Pour in the broth or water and bring to a boil. Serve when everything is cooked through.
Results
This is one of my favorite dishes I've been making at home lately because it doesn't feel that heavy since it's just thin slices of meat with plenty of veg. Highly recommend enjoying with a dipping sauce of ponzu + sesame oil + soy sauce.
Once you start making dents into the nabe, it leaves behind a nice soup from the simmering pork and cabbage that is great to reuse for noodle dishes!