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Nabemono (nabe a big pot + mono stuff) refers to a class of
Japanese dishes known as one pot dishes. "Nabe" refers to a traditional
Japanese clay pot used for cooking one-pot stews or meals over a fire.
Cooking fires are rare in modern Japan but nabe continue to be used for
preparing one-pot meals. "Mono" means "thing" or "things" or "stuff". Thus,
nabemono means things cooked together in a nabe pot (c.f., nimono [simmered
things] and yakimono [grilled things]).
Most nabemono are stews and soups served during the cold winters of
Japan. In modern Japan, nabemono are kept hot at the dining table by
portable gas ranges owned by almost all Japanese people. By serving at the
table, all the diners choose the ingredients they want from the pot. This is
considered an important feature of nabemono; Japanese people believe that
several people eating from one pot makes for a closer relationship. The
Japanese thus say, Nebe wo Kakomu ("sitting around the pot"), implying that
sharing nabemono will create warm relations between the diners who eat
together in the steam from the shared pot.
In Japan, the most popular nabemono is called "yosenabe". "Yose" means
putting together. The name thus implies that all things (e.g., meat, fish,
egg, tofu and vegetables) can be enjoyably cooked together in a nabe pot.
Yosenabe are typically based on a broth made with Miso or soy sauce
flavourings.
Another popular Nabemono is Chankonabe. Chankonabe was originally
served only to Sumo wrestlers. Chankonabe is served with more ingredients
than other nabemono. It includes rice and noodles, for example. The larger
portions help Sumo wrestlers maintain their substantial weight.
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