Kabocha Tofu Hot Pot
Mille feuille nabe is a Japanese hot pot inspired by the french puff pastry dessert—but instead of the “thousand leaves” being buttery pastry, it uses ruffles of napa cabbage layered between winter squash, shiitake mushrooms and tofu.
Ingredients and Farms
8-10 dried shiitake mushrooms ($3.50, Solano Mushroom)
Green onions ($1.50, Full Belly Farm)
3 pound Napa cabbage ($9, Front Porch Farm)
1 package dooboo (tofu) ($10, Joodooboo)
1 pound hard squash ($2.50, Tomatero)
2 portions dooboo sauce ($4, Joodooboo)
1 teaspoon honey
Equipment
Dutch oven, straight sided skillet, or donabe
Directions
Place 8-10 shiitake mushrooms in a bowl and pour over two cups room temperature water. Place a small bowl on top to make sure the mushrooms are submerged. Set aside to steep.
Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and peel as needed. Cut the squash into 2-inch pieces, about the same size as the tofu squares.
Cut the roots off half a bunch of green onions. Cut the stalks in half, separating the top dark green leaves from the light green and white stem. Quarter the stems lengthwise.
Cut the dooboo in half, turn the block 90-degrees, and cut into 7 slices (14 pieces total).
Remove the shiitake mushrooms from the water, squeezing gently, and saving the broth. Cut off and discard the hard stems.
Cut the bottom root end off of the cabbage and discard. Separate four cabbage leaves. Take one leaf, lay one length of scallion along the leaf. Stack two cabbage leaves on top, follow by another scallion length. Add the fourth cabbage leaf, and cut the pile crosswise into thirds. Pick up a section of cabbage and place it vertically up against the wall of your pot. Place a slice of tofu against the cabbage stack. Add another stack and a mushroom. Add the last section of cabbage finishing with a piece of squash.
Repeat with the rest of the head of cabbage and green onions—layering, cutting, and packing into the pot with the tofu, mushrooms, and squash pieces. As the leaves of cabbage get smaller towards the center, cut them in half instead of thirds. Don’t worry about it being perfect, but pack it quite tightly, as the ingredients will shrink as they cook.
Stir 1 portion of the dooboo sauce, 1 teaspoon honey, and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt into the reserved mushroom broth. Pour the sauce into the pot. Cover the pot and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
Serve with the remaining dooboo sauce for dipping and steamed rice if desired.
Enjoy!
Recipe by Meleyna Nomura