Mizutaki Chicken Hot Pot

Ingredients

• 800 g bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin on, cut into large pieces
• 2 l cold water, plus extra for blanching the chicken
• 1 piece kombu (about 10 g), wiped with a damp cloth
• 1 tbsp sake, or 1 tbsp water with a squeeze of lemon
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 30 g fresh ginger, thinly sliced (about 4 slices)
• 2 spring onions, white parts only, bruised
• 400 g Chinese cabbage or green cabbage, cut into large pieces, stems and leaves separated
• 200 g firm tofu, cut into 8 cubes
• 200 g shiitake or button mushrooms, stems trimmed
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices
• 150 g white radish (mooli), peeled and finely grated, for serving
• 3 spring onions, green parts, thinly sliced for serving
• 6 tbsp ponzu, or 3 tbsp soy sauce mixed with 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 300 g cooked short-grain rice or cooked rice noodles, to finish the broth
• 1 egg, beaten (optional, for the rice finish)

Instructions

1. Put the kombu in the 2 litres of cold water in a large pot and leave it to soak while you prepare the other ingredients.
2. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil. Blanch the chicken pieces for 1–2 minutes until the surface turns pale, then drain and rinse under cold water to remove scum.
3. Heat the kombu water over medium heat. Remove the kombu just before it boils, when small bubbles form at the edges of the pot.
4. Add the blanched chicken, sake, ginger, bruised spring onion whites and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a low simmer.
5. Simmer uncovered for 35–40 minutes, skimming off foam often, until the chicken is tender and reads at least 74°C at the thickest part, away from the bone. The broth should stay fairly clear.
6. Strain out the ginger and spring onion whites if you like a cleaner pot. Taste the broth and add a pinch more salt if needed. It should be gentle and savoury.
7. Add the carrots and mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the cabbage stems and tofu, and lay the cabbage leaves on top.
8. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes, until the cabbage is soft and wilted and the carrots are tender when pierced.
9. Mix the grated radish and sliced green spring onion into the ponzu in small bowls. Ladle chicken, vegetables and broth into bowls and dip as you eat.
10. To finish, add the cooked rice to the remaining broth and simmer for 3 minutes. Stir in the beaten egg off the heat until just set, and season with salt.

Tips

• Keep the broth at a gentle simmer once the chicken goes in. A hard boil makes the broth murky and the meat stringy.
• Bones and skin give the broth body, so avoid boneless breast if you can. If you only have breast, shorten the simmer to 15 minutes.
• Skim foam early and often for a clear, clean-tasting soup.
• Add vegetables in order of cooking time: carrots first, leafy cabbage last.