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–+ servings

Kare Nabe (Japanese Curry Hot Pot)

Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Soaking Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Author Yuto Omura
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients 
 

  • 600 ml water
  • 5 g dried kelp (kombu)
  • 4 chicken drumsticks
  • 1 carrot peeled, cut into thick rounds
  • 4 slices kabocha squash (or butternut squash) skin-on
  • 1 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp Japanese dark soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
  • 1 tbsp sake
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • ½ tbsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder based on 1 tsp = 200ml soup ratio, scale to your brand's strength
  • 1 tsp chili bean sauce (toban djan)
  • 6 black tiger shrimp shells and veins removed, tail left on
  • 50 g shimeji mushrooms or mushrooms of choice
  • 2 leaves Napa cabbage roughly cut
  • 1 Japanese leek (naganegi) diagonally sliced
  • 1 green bell pepper or 2-3 piman, cut into bitesize pieces
  • 4 tbsp preferred shredded melting cheese
  • 1 tomato with a cross scored on the top
  • 2 ptns cooked ramen noodles

Instructions 

  • Take your cooking pot and add 600 ml water and 5 g dried kelp (kombu). Leave to soak at room temperature for 30 minutes.
    two pieces of kombu (dried kelp) in a pot of water on a white background
  • Place the pot on the stove and add 4 chicken drumsticks. Heat until almost boiling, then remove and discard the kombu. Scoop out any scum that floats to the surface of the broth.
    chicken in kombu dashi in a gray ceramic pot on the stove
  • Add 1 carrot and 4 slices kabocha squash. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes with the lid on. If using additional hardy root vegetables, add them in this step.
    chicken, carrots and kabocha simmered in kombu dashi in a gray ceramic pot on a black stove
  • Season the broth with 1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tbsp Japanese dark soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu), 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp mirin, ½ tbsp Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder and 1 tsp chili bean sauce (toban djan). Mix until combined.
  • Place 6 black tiger shrimp, 50 g shimeji mushrooms, 2 leaves Napa cabbage, 1 Japanese leek (naganegi) and 1 green bell pepper in the broth. Sprinkle the top with 4 tbsp preferred shredded melting cheese and place 1 tomato in the center.
    Japanese curry hot pot topped with a tomato, cheese, chicken, prawns and various vegetables on the a black stove on a white background
  • Cover with a lid and continue to simmer for 5 minutes or until the chicken and shrimp are cooked through and the vegetables are softened to your liking.
    A gray ceramic pot with lid on the stove (cooking curry hot pots step)
  • Serve and eat up all of the ingredients in the broth.
    Japanese Curry Hot Pot (Kare Nabe) with chicken, prawns, vegetables and cheese in a gray ceramic pot on the stove
  • Add 2 ptns cooked ramen noodles to the leftover soup. Enjoy!
    pre-boiled ramen noodles in leftover curry hot pot broth on a white background

Notes

Chicken bouillon powder varies by brand. My brand is 1 tsp per 200 ml, so if yours is more concentrated (e.g., 1 tsp per 300 ml or 1 cup), use touch less to avoid oversalting.
Note: While the nutritional information includes the full serving of broth, most people in Japan don't actually finish all the soup.