Chankonabe (ちゃんこ鍋 (Chankonabe))
Overview
Chankonabe is the hearty one-pot stew-soup eaten by sumo wrestlers in Japan. A large pot of dashi or chicken broth, seasoned with soy sauce and mirin or with miso, is set on the table and filled with plenty of protein and vegetables: chicken pieces and chicken meatballs, fish or seafood, tofu, napa cabbage, leeks, carrots, shiitake and enoki mushrooms and daikon. Everyone serves themselves from the pot as it cooks. When the meat and vegetables are finished, udon noodles or rice are added to the remaining broth to make a final course. It is filling but not greasy.
History
Chanko is the name for any meal cooked in a sumo stable, and the young wrestlers take turns to cook it for the senior ones. Chicken became the traditional meat because a chicken stands on two legs, like a wrestler who has not been thrown, while four-legged animals were thought to bring bad luck. Many retired wrestlers open chanko restaurants, especially in Ryōgoku in Tokyo, near the sumo hall.
Main ingredients
Chicken, chicken meatballs, tofu, napa cabbage, mushrooms, udon. The soup is built on dashi and chicken broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chicken soups · Noodle soups · Cabbage soups · More soups from Japan
Recipe
Method
- 1
Bring the dashi, soy sauce and mirin to the boil in a large pot.
- 2
Add the chicken pieces and shape the meatball mixture into balls with two spoons, dropping them in.
- 3
Add the harder vegetables first, then the cabbage, mushrooms and tofu.
- 4
Simmer at the table, serving as things cook.
- 5
Finish by cooking the udon in the remaining broth.
- ✓
Serve. About 1h 10m from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
