Mizore Nabe – Japanese Hot Pot with Grated Daikon

A Japanese winter hot pot in clear dashi, with oysters, fried salmon and cod, mochi, silken tofu, and grated daikon.

It’s cold, night falls early, and nothing sounds more inviting than a steaming hot pot in the middle of the table. In mizore nabe, grated daikon drifts through clear dashi like melting snow, surrounding oysters, silken tofu, and golden mochi.

The fried salmon and cod keep a little of their crispness before soaking up the broth. A dab of yuzu kosho in your bowl, and you forget all about the weather outside.

What Is Mizore Nabe ?

Mizore nabe (みぞれ鍋) is a Japanese winter hot pot, cooked in an earthenware donabe and shared at the table. Its base is a clear kombu and katsuobushi dashi, seasoned with sake, mirin, salt, and light soy sauce (usukuchi), which adds saltiness without darkening the broth.

Carrot, Japanese leek, shiitake mushrooms, and shimeji mushrooms cook in the broth, followed by tofu, fried fish, mochi, oysters, and grated daikon. There is no miso, pork, or chicken in this version.

In Japanese, mizore means sleet, the mix of rain and snow that falls on winter days. Gently heated, the grated daikon becomes translucent and floats in the broth like melting snowflakes.

A Hot Pot Born in Snowy Winters

No one knows exactly where mizore nabe originated. It is often associated with Ishikawa Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan, where winters bring heavy snowfall and fish and oysters are local specialties.

The name follows a tradition in Japanese cooking : bringing the season to the plate. Dishes in which grated daikon evokes melting snow take the prefix mizore, such as mizore-ni (simmered) or mizore-ae (dressed).

When the daikon is drained more thoroughly and placed on top at the end of cooking, the dish is often called yukimi nabe, the “snow-viewing” hot pot, although the two names are used interchangeably.

The donabe sits in the center of the table, and everyone fills their bowl with broth, fish, tofu, and mushrooms.

Grated daikon is traditionally thought to aid digestion, which explains its place alongside fried fish and mochi. The meal ends with shime : udon cooked in the remaining broth, which has grown richer throughout the meal.

The Main Ingredients in Mizore Nabe

The oysters are salted, rinsed, then blanched for a few seconds, just long enough to firm them up. The salmon and cod are salted, rinsed, flavored with ginger juice, and fried in a thin coating of potato starch (katakuriko).

Kirimochi, rectangular glutinous rice cakes, are fried until they puff up, then turn meltingly soft in the broth. Silken tofu provides a gentle contrast to these fried ingredients.

As for the vegetables, the carrot is cut into maple leaf shapes, and the shiitake caps are scored with a cross. Japanese leek (naganegi) is milder than European leek. Seri, a fresh Japanese herb similar to parsley, goes in last, and watercress makes a good substitute.

Grated daikon defines this dish. It goes into the pot with the tofu, fish, and oysters, and should be heated only briefly to preserve its texture and mild sweetness. At the table, everyone seasons their bowl with yuzu kosho, shichimi togarashi, and yuzu zest.

Tips for a Good Mizore Nabe

Keep the broth pale : light soy sauce adds seasoning without color, and homemade dashi gives the cleanest flavor, though instant dashi works in a pinch.

Add the grated daikon at the very end and turn off the heat as soon as the broth returns to a boil. For the shime, thin the broth with a little dashi if it has reduced too much, and adjust the seasoning with a little light soy sauce and mirin before adding the udon.