(NOAH) Yu Owada's Improved Salt Chanko

Weekly Pro

21st December 2023 

"It's simple, but it looks great with the help of a hot pot craftsman"

Currently, Noah's Chanko comes in a variety of flavors, including salt, soy sauce, miso, mizutaki, curry, kimchi, sukiyaki, and tomato. Owada, the "Chanko-ban"* had worked part-time at a restaurant that focused on hot pot dishes before enrolling, and he adapted the recipes he learned from his seniors to his own. The salt chanko that will be introduced is very simple, but by arranging the fried tofu neatly along the edge of the pot and placing the tofu in the middle, it looks great and increases your appetite.

Ingredients

(This is for four people, but obviously you can adjust to suit your needs. You can find all of these ingredients in East Asian supermarkets) 

1kg x Chicken thigh meat*

1/4 Chinese cabbage (Napa cabbage) 

1/2 Daikon

1 Carrot

1 Onion (White)

1 Green onion (Spring onion)

1 packet Enoki mushrooms

1 packet Shimeji mushrooms (these are also known as "White Beech mushrooms")

1 packet Fried Tofu (Abura-age)

1 packet Tofu (I would use firm tofu)

Seasoning

20g Salt

150g Sake (for a more authentic taste, do not use synthetic cooking Sake)

100g Mirin 

100g Chicken soup base (bouillon) 

15g Dashi stock powder

10cm Konbu Dashi (kelp stock)    

How to make

(The trainees prepare the meat and vegetables the night before, so their seniors are not kept waiting.)

1. Cut the ingredients. The chicken thighs, Chinese cabbage, green onions, onions, fried tofu, and tofu should be cut into bite-sized pieces. Cut the daikon and carrot into small pieces, and remove the stems from the enoki and shimeji mushrooms. 

2. Pour 2 liters of water into a pot, add the sake, mirin, Konbu dashi (Kelp stock), dashi granules, the two mushrooms, and turn on the hob (FYI each ladle weighs 50g, so that's 3 glasses of sake and 2 glasses of mirin) 

3. When it comes to a boil (note, you want a gentle boil), remove the kombu and add the daikon radish, carrots, green onions, and onions. Boil for about 10 minutes. 

4. Add the chicken thighs and season with salt and chicken stock. 

5. Once the chicken thighs are cooked, add the Chinese cabbage and make a final taste check. (This step is important as water comes out of the cabbage)  

6. Arrange the fried tofu neatly along the edge of the pot, put the tofu in the middle, cover with a lid, and simmer for a little while, and it's done!

Notes

"Chanko-ban": The person in charge of preparing the chanko for the dojo, usually the most junior member.

Chicken thigh meat: This is the best cut of meat in cooking as it is generally juicer and doesn't dry out as quickly. The article says that the fat is cut off and the chicken is chopped very finely for the Noah pot.  

More Noah dojo (and classic All Japan) recipes 

Picture credits: Weekly Pro