As promised, this week I used my Uncommon Goods Japanese earthenware cooker, also called a donabe, to make this delicious seafood soup. It’s been cold and rainy here all week, and over plaintive moans from my kids of “WHERE DID THE SUN GO,” I thought that a colorful soup made in my little Japanese donabe might be just what the doctor ordered.
Donabe cookers come in all shapes and sizes, and the one I have can best be described as the perfect cooker for two people to get a nice, hearty meal. For the five of us, though (au pair included), the size of this cooker is now known as our “snack cooker.” It’s about ten inches in diameter, which is big enough to give everyone a little taste of the tasty morsels inside, but definitely not enough to fill us up. In order to have enough food for dinner, I had to make a “side dish” of ramen noodle soup with pork belly and other veggies. I HAD TO. Otherwise, I’d still be dealing with children laying on the floor of my kitchen, crying and yelling “I’M SO HUNGRY I CAN’T WALK.” These are the theatrics I deal with when I’m trying to cook dinner.
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The best part of a seafood soup made in a Japanese donabe is that I think the earthenware imparts a certain quality that makes the broth have more depth of flavor. I tested this theory by making a second batch of soup in a regular, All Clad stainless steel pot, and we all definitely noticed a difference between the two soups. Of course, the Japanese donabe is best known for its ability to make perfect, fluffy rice with a layer of crisped, golden-brown rice at the bottom. I’m so excited to try making this rice in my donabe that I can hardly sit still right now.
For my seafood soup, I made a version of Bon Appetit’s Anything Goes Donabe, adding head-on shrimp, enoki mushrooms, chunks of haddock fish filet, littleneck clams, napa cabbage and carrots into a broth of mirin (Japanese sweet wine, available here), dashi (a Japanese fish-based stock made from hondashi, which you can purchase here), and soy sauce. The dashi is really important, as I’ve learned after having made variations of Japanese broths countless times. There’s a definite briny element that’s otherwise missing.
When my donabe was finished, I moved the steaming pot to the table so that we could all crowd around it. The broth bubbled long after it left our stove, and I had to keep swatting fingers away to let it cool. The broth was light, savory and comforting, and we had a good time plucking out veggies and proteins to start our meal.
“Mama, there’s not enough of it!” exclaimed Meimei, after I spooned a little soup into a small rice bowl for her.
Great. Now I’m in the market for a bigger donabe.
- 2 cups dashi
- ¼ cup mirin
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 scallions, sliced thin, julienne style and soaked in a small bowl of ice water
- 2 cups Napa cabbage, rinsed and cut into 2-inch sized pieces
- 4 littleneck clams
- 4 jumbo shrimp, head on
- 1 haddock filet, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 3 ounces enoki mushrooms
- 1 cup baby carrots
- Mix dashi, mirin, and soy sauce in a medium bowl.
- Soak scallions in ice water until they begin to curl, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and squeeze dry in paper towels; set aside.
- Line the donabe with the napa cabbage.. Arrange clams, shrimp, haddock, mushrooms, carrot, and about a ¼ cup of scallion pieces; add dashi mixture.
- Cover donabe and heat over medium-high until liquid is just simmering. Uncover, reduce heat to low, and gently simmer until clams open and shrimp and fish are cooked through, 5–8 minutes.
- Serve topped with drained scallions.
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love how easy this japanese seafood soup is. definitely something i can see myself making – so perfect for the autumn weather Xx
This looks absolutely glorious!!! I am so intrigued to get one and try some kind of bibimbap to see if that would work too!?
Samantha, yes, I think these are the exact same cookers that are used for bibimbap, too! I’d love to hear how it works out for you!
Just loved your text. Big fan of clay pots here in Brazil (panelas de barro in portuguese), i’m gladly surprised knowing that they are a tradition also in Japan. Our version is a little more rustic in purpose and made by indiens and afro communities. I wonder the history of these pots in Japan, they are so delicate and beautiful !