I had some nabe (pronounced: naw-bay) the other night and it was the bomb! I’m going to throw in some terminology with pronunciation on this Japan it UP! entry. This tasty dish is a soup or stew that’s served in a clay pot because it stays warm after the flame is turned off. You can make nabe for two but we usually eat it with friends and everybody grabs frood from the same pot.
 This time our nabe was filled with a soup, udon noodles, carrots, cabbage, crab legs aka ‘kani’ (pronounced: Connie), and some sausages. I think the sausages give it a western style taste and this time we used cabbage instead of “hakusai” (pronounced: hawk-sai, or hawkseye) which is Chinese cabbage. We cooked it on a burner right on the living room table. The table is called a kotatsu (pronounced koh-ta-tsu). A kotatsu is a table used mostly in Japan and is a wooden table covered by a heavy blanket with a built in heater underneath to keep you warm. Great for warm winters! Bad for people with dust allergies. I’ve never had it before coming to Japan but here they have nabe restaurants which are very affordable. If you get the chance you should enjoy some nabe with a group of friends. Maybe there are some restaurants in your country that offer nabe, but it might take some investigating to find them.
I love our kotatsu. What a great invention! My wife pretty much lives under it. The nabe, sake, kotatsu combo is a good reason to love winter.
i dont like kotatsu’s too much..but nabe’s are really the only way to go in winter! gosh… i make it literally EVERY weekend…talk about slack-off cooking…yours looks really good tho!
Nick - The kotatsu is pretty nice with the heater. I’d choose that + some cooler room temps vs. a warmer room. Sounds like your wife has the right idea!
Jyankee - I saw your not feeling well, hope you get better soon. Every weekend? I could go for that, it’s gooooood.
I would only go organic on the sausage!
Kali - Do it! Organic sausage! I bet it tastes pretty good.