Nabemono

Nabemono (鍋物, なべ物, nabe a big pot + mono stuff) refers to a class of Japanese dishes known as one pot dishes. "Nabe" refers to a traditional Japanese clay pot used for cooking one-pot stews or meals over a fire. Cooking fires are rare in modern Japan but nabe continue to be used for preparing one-pot meals. "Mono" means "thing" or "things" or "stuff". Thus, nabemono means things cooked together in a nabe pot (c.f., nimono [simmered things] and yakimono [grilled things]).

Most nabemono are stews and soups served during the cold winters of Japan. In modern Japan, nabemono are kept hot at the dining table[?] by portable gas ranges owned by almost all Japanese people. By serving at the table, all the diners choose the ingredients they want from the pot. This is considered an important feature of nabemono; Japanese people believe that several people eating from one pot makes for a closer relationship. The Japanese thus say, Nebe wo Kakomu ("sitting around the pot"), implying that sharing nabemono will create warm relations between the diners who eat together in the steam from the shared pot.

In Japan, the most popular nabemono is called "yosenabe". "Yose" means putting together. The name thus implies that all things (e.g., meat, fish, egg, tofu and vegetables) can be enjoyably cooked together in a nabe pot. Yosenabe are typically based on a broth[?] made with Miso or soy sauce flavourings.

Another popular Nabemono is Chankonabe. Chankonabe was originally served only to Sumo wrestlers[?]. Chankonabe is served with more ingredients than other nabemono. It includes rice and noodles, for example. The larger portions help Sumo wrestlers maintain their substantial weight.