Karakara Nabe in Hyogo
Sanzaemonten
- “Karakaranabe” is an original hot pot dish created by “Maruyoshi”, a barbecue restaurant, in Tohori. This is made of ingredients such as Horumon (offal) meat and vegetable which are cooked in a Japanese-style salty-sweet soup and has been loved by local people for a long time. The owner opened this restaurant in 2009 after he got on-the-job training for six years at Maruyoshi, since he fell in love with the great taste of the dish and wanted to keep the recipe of the chef who was his father-in-law. They offer Karakaranabe, their signature dish with which you can choose the level of hotness on a scale of 1 to 30 as well as various salt-grilled meat items including chicken skin and Seseri, neck meat of chicken. The restaurant is always crowded with office workers and families who love their delicious dishes.
Sanzaemonten
Sozuri Nabe in Okayama
Momoka
- Beef has been traded in quantity in Tsuyama city since the Meiji Period. They say that since local people loved “Sozuri Beef” shaved off from cow’s bones and having a rich Umami flavor, they fully enjoy the good taste by cooking it in hot pots or by roasting. At “Momoka,” which opened in 1990 and offers homestyle dishes, this Sozuri Nabe is very popular, too. When cooked in Dashi soup stock made of Kombu seaweed and Katsuobushi bonito flakes, the Umami flavor of the soft Sozuri Beef goes into the soup to make other ingredients such as Tofu and bean sprouts amazingly tasty. This dish is also nutritionally well balanced with lots of other vegetables including Sasagaki Gobo (thinly chopped burdock root) and Chinese chives. I strongly recommend you finish it with noodles such as Udon, Ramen and rice gruel so that you can enjoy the delicious Dashi soup to the fullest.
Momoka
Lemon Nabe in Hiroshima
Oshokujidokoro Chidori
- You can take a high-speed boat from Onomichi Port to Setoda Port and it takes 30 minutes. “Osyokujidokoro Chidori” restaurant is located at the end of the local shopping street stretching from the Setoda Port. Ever since its opening in 1966, Chidori has been loved by local people as a major restaurant of the town. In addition to local specialty dishes such as Takomeshi (rice cooked with octopus) and Tako Tendon (a bowl of rice topped with Tempura of octopus), they offer their original “Lemon Nabe,” which is equally popular. The recipe was created in the home of the shop owner. When the owner’s son, the younger chef, tried a new recipe of a hot pot dish by adding “Setoda lemon,” a local specialty, they found it so tasty that they decided to offer the dish at their restaurant. You can enjoy the delicious Umami flavor of fresh seafood such as red sea bream, octopus and minced octopus along with lots of pork and vegetables cooked together in a hot pot. I’d ecommend you finish the hot pot by adding spaghetti or rice so that you can enjoy the delicious soup as a lemon cheese pasta or as a risotto.
