tinataste

⭐ Mille-Feuille Nabe

  • 1 head of napa cabbage
  • 1.5 lbs sliced pork belly
  • Optional: enoki mushroom

Broth
  • 8–10 slices ginger (peeled and thinly sliced from a 1-inch, 2.5-cm knob)
  • 5 cups dashi
  • 2 Tbsp sake
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • ½ tsp kosher salt

Dipping Sauce
  • scallion
  • ponzu
  1. Make dashi (around 4-5 cups)
  2. To make the soup broth, combine 5 cups dashi (Japanese soup stock), 2 Tbsp sake, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, and ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt in a measuring cup or mixing bowl. Tip: Don’t reduce the salt since the napa cabbage will release liquid during cooking and dilute the soup.
  3. Cut 1 head napa cabbage lengthwise into quarters. DO NOT cut off the core from the wedges yet. They keep the leaves attached and make layering the pork belly much easier.
  4. Carefully wash the leaves without detaching them from the core. Drain well.
  5. Layer 1½ lb sliced pork belly into the napa cabbage wedges by placing one pork belly slice between each of the leaves.
  6. Once you‘ve tucked in the pork belly slices, carefully cut off the hard cabbage cores without disturbing the layers. Cut each wedge into 4 pieces that are each about 2–2½ inches (5–6 cm) long.
  7. Begin to pack the ingredients starting from the edge of the pot and working your way toward the center. Turn the stacks on their side so the pink and green layers are visible. Position the layers parallel to the pot‘s side so they eventually form concentric circles in the pot. Insert the thinly sliced ginger between the layers.
  8. Pour the soup broth into the pot with the cabbage and pork layers. Start cooking, covered, on medium-high heat. Once boiling, skim off the scum and fat on the surface using a fine-mesh skimmer. Then, reduce the heat to medium low and cook covered until the napa cabbage is tender and the pork belly is cooked through, roughly 8–10 minutes. Serve it hot dipped in ponzu sauce and enjoy!