Japan · Soups

Mille-Feuille Nabe (Japanese Cabbage and Pork Hot Pot)

Mille-feuille nabe borrows its name from the French pastry of a thousand leaves, but here the layers are napa cabbage and paper-thin pork belly, packed upright into a pot so the cut edges spiral outwards like a flower.

45 min✻4 servings✻450 kcal
Mille-Feuille Nabe (Japanese Cabbage and Pork Hot Pot)

Ingredients

  • napa cabbage1 pcs
  • pork belly500 g
  • dashi800 ml
  • sake100 ml
  • light soy sauce2 tbsp
  • mirin1 tbsp
  • ginger30 g
  • ponzu100 ml
  • daikon150 g
  • spring onion3 pcs

Method

  1. 1Cut the napa cabbage into quarters lengthwise and rinse between the leaves. Separate the leaves, keeping them whole.
  2. 2Lay a cabbage leaf flat, cover it with a single layer of thinly sliced pork belly, top with another leaf, more pork, and repeat to build a stack four or five leaves high.
  3. 3Cut each stack crosswise into pieces about 5–6 cm long, the height of your pot. Repeat with the remaining cabbage and pork.
  4. 4Stand the pieces upright in a wide pot with the cut layers facing up, packing them tightly from the outside in towards the centre. Pack them closer than looks necessary, as everything shrinks as it cooks.
  5. 5Slice the ginger thinly and tuck the slices between the layers. Mix the dashi with the sake, light soy sauce, and mirin, and pour it over.
  6. 6Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 20 minutes until the cabbage is tender and the pork is cooked through.
  7. 7Grate the daikon and slice the spring onion, and serve them alongside the ponzu for dipping. Eat straight from the pot, and cook noodles in the remaining broth at the end.