With its beautiul Namako-walled breweries, this is Saijo, Hiroshima’s famous sake brewing area. Developed originally for brewery workers, Bishu-nabe (hot pot made with high-grade sake) is served at the Sake Festival held each autumn.

Made without a drop of water, Bishu-nabe is simmered using only sake and natural juices of the vegetable – a dish truly characteristic of a sake brewery. As it can easily be made at home, yours truly, Furukawa photo-writer, gave it a shot!

How to make Bishu-nabe

Ingredients (Servings for 4 to 5 people)

(In the pot) *Cut vegetables, fried tofu and konnyaku into bitesized pieces and the meats into thin slices

Chinese cabbage x 1/2

Carrots x 1
White leeks x 1 bunch
Green bell peppers x 4
Onions x 1
Thick fried tofu x 1 block
Konnyaku x 1 block
Edible chrysanthemum x 1 bunch
Fresh shiitake mushrooms x 4
Chicken breast x 1
Chicken gizzard x 200g
Pork x 200g

(Seasonings, etc.)
Garlic (sliced)
Sake, to taste
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Fresh eggs x 4 or 5

As there are so many ingredients to put in the pot, feel free to decrease the amount according to your preference. Personally I like the texture of the chicken gizzard and konnyaku, so I recommend them.

Seasonings include only sake, salt and black pepper! This time I used the Jotoshu sake from Kamotsuru, the birthplace of Bishu nabe.

Instructions

<1> Put the pot on the stove, fry the pork belly slices and add the garlic.
<2> Add the chicken gizzard to <1> and fry briefly on strong heat while adding salt and pepper. Add just enough sake to cover the meat.

<3> Add the rest of the ingredients according to the time necessary for cooking, sprinkle salt, pepper and sake, and keep stir-frying and boiling until the moisture from the vegetables has come out and the steam has lessened.

Key Point: If it seems that the ingredients might burn and get stuck in the pot, just add more sake – use as much as you need without holding back!

It’s ready! That happened in no time♪ Well then, let’s enjoy it by dipping it into some raw egg. (Raw eggs can be eaten quite safely in Japan. Please make sure the eggs you use are also safe to eat raw.)

It’s delicious~~!!! Although I only added sake, salt and black pepper, it has a great flavor, and the raw egg gives it a milder taste – just right! I don’t know if the shiitake mushrooms absorbed a lot in their pleats, but they give off the strong round fragrance of sake. The alcohol evaporates with heating, but leaves behind all the good flavor of the sake.

If you take a look at the homepages other breweries as well as that of Higashihiroshima city, you can find many recipes each a little different.

Why not have a go at making it at home, too? ♪

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Izumi Furukawa