Yaminabe

Have you ever heard of the hot pot dish called “Yaminabe”? “Yaminabe” is a pot dish in which several people bring ingredients unknown to anyone but themselves and cook and eat them in the darkness. We might call it a “secret hot pot” or something. This one-pot dish is more for entertainment and event purposes than for eating meal. There are no rules regarding the type of ingredients or soups to be used, and you can use any edible ingredients. As a basic rule, once you have placed the food from the pot onto your own plate, you must eat it all. Well, in other words, the main purpose of this one-pot dish is for everyone to enjoy the thrill of not knowing what they will have to eat. However, it is important to agree in advance on a certain level of moderation… For example, not to use ingredients or seasonings that would obviously make the entire pot dish tasteless, or else. If not, well, you will be in serious trouble. (Of course, if you all intend to enjoy even such a serious situation, no problem.) There is one more important note. That is, since the cooking is done in such darkness that the ingredients of the pot cannot be seen, you must be careful not to burn yourself.

Many Japanese are familiar with what this yaminabe is, but there are fewer who have actually practiced it than might be expected. Well, it is quite difficult to find the proper ways to actually do it. Somehow, we are sure you can all guess what we are talking about. Therefore, we would like to present below an example of a series of procedures that are in somewhat good working order.

How to do “Yaminabe Party”

⓪ Preparation (under lights)
Each attendee enters the room with the ingredients hidden so that no one but himself can see them. Use a cassette gas stove as the equipment for heating the pot so that you can locate the pot when th room is darkened completely. If you use an electrically heated pot or induction stove, it is very difficult to safely put food into the pot or place it on a serving plate in total darkness, right?

① Prepare soup (under lights)
You might select “Yose-nabe” or “Mizutaki” as a base for the type of hot pot you will cook. For “Yose-nabe”, put kombu dashi and an appropriate amount of water into a pot and heat to a simmer. For “Mizutaki,” all you need to do is add the appropriate amount of water to the pot. At this time, seasonings such as ponzu sauce and condiments should be placed in individual serving dishes.

② Put the ingredents into the pot (under blackout)
It is time to darken the room. Attendees take turns putting in their ingredients. Here are the minimum rules we recommend for ingredients…

・Avoid ingredients that easily fall apart.
Examples: Croquettes, tempura, deep-fried food with a batter such as karaage, etc.
・Avoid gelatinous (semi-gelatinous) ingredients.
Examples: Jellies, puddings, gummies, etc.
・Do not throw in any seasonings that would drastically bias the overall flavor of the pot.
Examples: Curry stock, kimchi stock, squid ink, ketchup, etc.
※It is safer to use seasonings only for each attendee’s portion on their own plate.

③ Wait for the pot to simmer (under lights or blackout)
Heat the pot. If you are using an earthenware pot or other pot with a lid that does not allow you to see inside the pot, you can do so under lights. If you use a pot with a transparent lid, do so under blackout. Regarding the heating time, attendees who put in items that are not to be eaten raw should be responsible for declaring the required heating time to everyone else. Be careful not to overcook and cause blowouts.

④ Eating (under blackout)
After carefully checking the position of the pots and cassette gas stove with the fire as a landmark, each should place the food on his or her own plate and eat it. Be careful not to burn yourself.

⑤ Add ingredients or soups (under blackout)
Do as needed and as appropriate. Carefully adjust the amount of ingredients and broth to be added and the additional heat.

⑥ Cleanup (under lights)
Usually, pots, cassette gas stoves, table tops, etc. are quite dirty with spills, food, etc. All attendees should do their best to clean up the mess.

The best way to actually perform a yaminabe would be to have one person assigned as a Boss to perform the above steps ①～③. Of course, the person who plays the Boss would know what kind of ingredients are being thrown into the pot. But that’s just the way it is, and you might as well enjoy it as such a perk of the role. We hope you have learned that yaminabe is one way to enjoy hot pot dishes. One last note. When you cook the hot pot dish, be sure to pay attention to the ventilation. When using a cassette gas stove, this is even more important.