Chinese cabbage Millefeuille pot

This is a hot pot trend in Japan at the moment.

It’s simple and economical and you can easily feed 

a family of four for $10.

All you need is Chinese cabbage and pork belly.

Even my meat-loving husband was satisfied with it.

Ingredients:

1/4 to half Chinese cabbage

300-500g thinly sliced pork belly

1 cup water

1-2 tsp hondashi (Japanese fish stock)

100g Tofu (optional) cut in cubes

Dipping source:

4tbs soy saurce

2tbs mirin

2tbs white vinegar

1tsp chili powder (optional)

1tsp roasted white sesame

For later

1 serve of Udon noodle or 1 bowl of cooked rice

1 egg

                                          

Method:

1. Cut the core out of the Chinese cabbage. 

Wash leaves and drain in water.

2. Place a cabbage leaf on the cutting board; layer the pork on top of the leaf.

Repeat the layering about 5 times.

3. Cut the layered leaves and pork together in about 5-6cm widths.

(I cut these in three)

4. Place these layered leaves and pork together tightly in the earthen pot (you can use any deep pot)

5. Once the pot is filled with the layered leaves and pork, pour water over it. Sprinkle hondashi over the layered leaves and pork and turn on the stove on high and put the lid on.

6. When it starts boiling, turn it down and cook for a further 15-20 minutes with the lid on. Check the pot from time to time. Use a ladle to push the leaves down if needed. And scoop up the soup and pour over the leaves. Use the ladle to make a space in the middle of the pot and then add the tofu to the middle. Cook until leaves become soft.

7. Put all dipping sauce ingredients together in a bowl.

To enjoy the hot pot, grab a chopstick full of leaves and meat together and dip in to the sauce. Be careful as it will be very hot.

After you have eaten (almost) enough, add a packet of udon noodle to the pot.

Put  the lid back on and cook it for about 10 minutes (until noodles get soft) then add 1 egg and mix gently over the noodle. Put lid back on for another 3 minutes. The noodle will soak up all the flavours of the pot and be ready to eat. You also can use cooked rice (1 bowl) instead of udon noodle to make congee.

Either way, you won't waste anything.

This recipe was created by Remi Hirano who is a cooking enthusiast, celebrity, and chanson singer in Tokyo. She has a twitter account if anybody is interested: @Remi_Hirano