Nabe (hot-pot)

There are various types of nabe hot-pot available in Japan, with the most well known listed below. You can read more about nabe here.

Chanko Nabe – Sumo wrestlers food

This type of nabe was originally served to Sumo wrestlers to help them gain weight. There is nothing special about the ingredients but the amount of food brought out to cook in the pot may surprise you. Although you pay enough for it, especially when dining around the popular Sumo area of Ryogoku.

Motsu Nabe – Innards stew

Motsu nabe is popular with an older crowd and can generally be described as containing “beef or pork offal”.

Oden – Stewed fishcake

You will see oden sold in every convenience store during the colder months. Mostly containing processed fish in various shapes, along with boiled eggs, Japanese radish and other low calorie, highly absorbent items. The ingredients stew in the broth for hours making even the dullest of Japanese radishes tasty and glowingly warm during the cold, winter months. While it doesn’t look like much, it is certainly a traditional Japanese pastime worth exploring at least once.

Other type of nabe hot-pot

Shabu-Shabu is covered in its own article.