Chanko nabe (sumo hot pot)
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 東京都
Servings: 4人分
Chanko nabe (sumo hot pot), also called sumo stew / chanko hot pot, is a garlic-forward chicken broth loaded with chicken, meatballs, cabbage, tofu, and mizuna. This home version seasons a clear salty broth so a family of four can cook and pull pieces as they finish.
At a glance
Time: about 40–50 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty: easy–medium · ≈ 400–500 kcal per serving (estimate)
Chanko nabe (sumo hot pot), also called sumo stew / chanko hot pot, is a garlic-forward chicken broth loaded with chicken, meatballs, cabbage, tofu, and mizuna. This home version seasons a clear salty broth so a family of four can cook and pull pieces as they finish.
Ingredients
- Chicken thigh 300g (about 1 piece)
- Chicken meatballs (store-bought or homemade) 10 pieces
- Napa cabbage 1/4 head (about 400g)
- Carrot 1/3 (about 50g)
- Welsh onion (negi) 2 stalks
- Mizuna 1/2 pack (about 100g)
- Shiitake mushrooms 4
- Silken tofu 1/2 block (about 150g)
- Aburaage (fried tofu pouches) 2 sheets
- Dried kuzukiri noodles 1 pack (about 50–60g; soak per package)
- [Soup] Water 1000ml
- [Soup] Chicken bouillon granules 3 Tbsp (about 27g)
- [Soup] Salt 1 tsp
- [Soup] Garlic (grated) 3–5 cloves
- [Soup] Ginger (grated) 1–2 tsp
- Ponzu or soy sauce (dipping sauce, optional) as needed
Steps
- Cut the chicken thigh into bite-size pieces. Roughly chop the cabbage, thinly slice the carrot into gingko cuts, slice the negi on the diagonal, trim the shiitake and halve or thinly slice them, cut the tofu into large bite pieces, and pour hot water over the aburaage to degrease, then cut into strips. Soak the kuzukiri per the bag and cut into easy lengths. Trim the mizuna roots and roughly chop.
- Put water, chicken bouillon, salt, grated garlic, and ginger in a pot over medium heat; bring to a boil and dissolve well. Taste and adjust saltiness; when the garlic aroma rises, move on.
- Add ingredients from the ones that take longest to cook. First add the chicken and meatballs, carrot, and the firmer cabbage near the core; skim while simmering 5–7 minutes.
- Add shiitake, tofu, aburaage, kuzukiri, and negi; simmer another 4–5 minutes. When the vegetables soften, lay on the mizuna, bring to a brief boil, and turn off the heat.
- Eat pieces as they are done. Serve ponzu or soy dipping sauce if you like. Use leftover broth for udon or zosui porridge as a finish.
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Notes
A chicken-based broth with a strong garlic kick is easy for home cooks. If your granules are strong, start with 2 Tbsp and fine-tune with salt.
Store-bought chicken meatballs are fine. For homemade, mix ground chicken with salt, minced negi, and grated ginger, then roll into balls.
Old sumo stables are said to have avoided four-legged meats for luck, but at home a chicken-forward pot is perfect—add pork or seafood if you want a yose-nabe style mix.
Add mizuna last for aroma and crunch. Long simmering dulls the color, so stop after a brief boil.
It scales easily for a crowd. Next day, reheat the broth for udon or zosui so nothing goes to waste.
Time and temperature
Prep 15–20 min · Bring broth to boil medium heat 5 min · Simmer chicken and hard veg 5–7 min · Add tofu/noodles 4–5 min · Mizuna brief boil
Nutrition
450 kcal · Protein 32 g · Fat 18 g · Carbs 28 g
1 bowl with chicken and vegetables, estimate for 4 servings
Substitutes
- Chicken meatballs → ground-chicken balls seasoned with salt and ginger
- Mizuna → spinach or watercress added last
- Kuzukiri → glass noodles or shirataki
- Aburaage → omit or use thin fried tofu
- Chicken bouillon → homemade chicken stock
Storage
Best fresh. Leftover broth keeps refrigerated 1 day; reheat to a simmer and add fresh greens if needed. Meat and tofu leftovers keep 1 day covered. Freeze broth without tofu if storing longer.
FAQ
- Why does my chanko broth taste flat?
- Garlic and salt drive the home style. Bloom grated garlic in the boiling broth and adjust salt or bouillon by the teaspoon until savory.
- Can I prep chanko nabe ahead?
- Cut vegetables and mix the broth base earlier, but simmer the chicken and greens shortly before serving for best texture.
- What if I have no chicken meatballs?
- Roll seasoned ground chicken into balls, or add extra thigh pieces; the pot stays chicken-forward either way.
- How do I keep mizuna bright green?
- Add it only at the end and stop after a brief boil; long simmering dulls color and softens the crunch.
- What should I do with leftover chanko broth?
- Cook udon in it or make zosui rice porridge the next day so nothing is wasted.
Origin and history
Chanko nabe is closely tied to sumo-stable neighborhoods such as Sumida in Tokyo. “Chanko” means the meals wrestlers eat in general, and this loaded one-pot stew has long fed a whole stable at once.
Said to date from around the Meiji era, it simmers chicken, vegetables, tofu, aburaage, and more in chicken stock into a nourishing pot. Seasoning runs salty, soy, or miso depending on the stable or shop.
This home recipe serves about 4, built on chicken bouillon with garlic and ginger in a basic salty style. Add hard-to-cook items first and pull pieces as they finish—that pacing rarely fails at home.