Kiritanpo Nabe (Akita Chicken Hot Pot)
Cuisine: Japanese
Region: 秋田県
Servings: 4人分
Kiritanpo Nabe, also searched as Akita chicken hot pot, is a regional pot from the Odate and Kazuno area of Akita. A chicken-bone broth is filled with grilled mashed-rice sticks, burdock, long onions, and seri, then seasoned with soy sauce.
At a glance
Time: about 55 min · Serves 4 · Difficulty: medium · ≈ 380 kcal per serving (estimate)
Kiritanpo Nabe, also searched as Akita chicken hot pot, is a regional pot from the Odate and Kazuno area of Akita. A chicken-bone broth is filled with grilled mashed-rice sticks, burdock, long onions, and seri, then seasoned with soy sauce.
Ingredients
- Kiritanpo (store-bought or homemade) 8 pieces
- Water 800 ml
- Chicken thigh or Hinai-jidori (or similar) 160–200 g
- Chicken carcass (or wingettes / boxed chicken stock) half to 1 carcass (use the package amount if using boxed stock)
- Maitake mushrooms 80 g
- Ito-konnyaku (thin shirataki filaments) 1 pack (cut into easy-to-eat lengths)
- Naganegi (Japanese long onions) 2
- Burdock root (gobo) 100 g
- Seri (Japanese parsley / dropwort) 120 g
- Soy sauce 4–5 Tbsp (about 60–75 ml)
- Sake 1.5 Tbsp (about 25 ml)
- Salt a pinch
Steps
- Shave the burdock into thin slivers and soak them in water. Cut the long onions on a diagonal, cut the seri into 4–5 cm lengths, and tear the maitake by hand. Cut the ito-konnyaku into easy-to-eat lengths and blanch it; cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. Halve the kiritanpo or cut them into easy-to-eat lengths.
- Put the water and chicken carcass in a pot. Over medium heat, carefully skim the foam before it comes to a full boil and simmer 20–30 minutes to make stock. Remove the carcass (if you used wingettes, you may leave them in). If you are using boxed chicken stock, skip this step, dissolve it in the water, and continue.
- Add the chicken and the drained burdock and simmer 8–10 minutes, skimming again. Add the ito-konnyaku and maitake and simmer another 3–4 minutes.
- Season with soy sauce, sake, and salt. Do not use MSG; keep the balance between the stock and the soy sauce first.
- Arrange the cut kiritanpo in the pot and simmer 2–3 minutes until heated through. Add the long onions, lay the seri on top last, bring the pot just back to a boil, then turn off the heat and serve from the pot.
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Notes
Store-bought kiritanpo make a very good pot. To make them yourself, mash rice cooked a little on the firm side, wrap it around cedar sticks (or similar), grill it, then cut it to pot length. Over-dried kiritanpo melt if they simmer too long, so add them about 2–3 minutes before the end.
Stock drawn from a chicken carcass tastes closest to the original. If you cannot find one, wingettes or boxed chicken stock work, but go easy on the soy sauce if the product is already salty.
Add the seri at the very end. Long cooking dulls both aroma and texture, so stop the heat as soon as it comes back to a boil.
Hinai-jidori gives a richer flavor, but ordinary chicken thighs are fine at home. If the fat bothers you, trim some of the skin before cooking.
The leftover broth is excellent the next day as udon soup or rice porridge (zosui). Kiritanpo fall apart if they overcook, so refrigerate leftover pieces separately and warm them just before eating to help them keep their shape.
Time and temperature
Prep 15–20 min · Simmer carcass stock 20–30 min, skimming · Chicken and burdock 8–10 min · Shirataki and maitake 3–4 min · Kiritanpo 2–3 min · Seri just back to a boil
Nutrition
380 kcal · Protein 22 g · Fat 10 g · Carbs 50 g
about 1/4 of the pot (estimate)
Substitutes
- Store-bought kiritanpo → homemade firm rice grilled on sticks
- Chicken carcass → wingettes / low-salt boxed stock
- Hinai-jidori → ordinary skin-on chicken thigh
- Seri → celery leaves / cilantro stems
- Maitake → shiitake or oyster mushrooms
Storage
Best served hot from the pot. Refrigerate leftover kiritanpo separately from the broth and vegetables for about 1 day. Reheat the broth first the next day, then warm the kiritanpo 2–3 minutes so they do not fall apart. Leftover broth makes good udon or rice porridge. Freezing the rice sticks in broth spoils their texture.
FAQ
- Why do the kiritanpo fall apart?
- They usually went in too early or simmered too long. Drier sticks melt faster, so add them only 2–3 minutes before serving and heat them just through.
- The broth looks cloudy and tastes gamey?
- Foam was not skimmed before a hard boil. Keep a gentle simmer and ladle off the scum; if it already tastes strong, loosen with a little water and rebalance the soy sauce.
- Can I make kiritanpo nabe ahead?
- The broth and vegetables can be cooked a day ahead and chilled. Keep the kiritanpo separate and slip them into the hot broth for 2–3 minutes just before serving.
- What can I use if I cannot find seri?
- Celery leaves, cilantro stems, or tender spinach stems work. Add them at the very end and stop the heat as soon as they come back to a boil.
- Can wingettes replace a chicken carcass?
- Yes, and you can leave them in the pot to eat. If you switch to a salty boxed stock, cut back the soy sauce so the pot does not become too salty.
Origin and history
Kiritanpo nabe is a regional hot pot from the Odate and Kazuno area of Akita Prefecture. Chicken stock is seasoned with soy sauce and filled with kiritanpo (grilled mashed rice formed around a stick), burdock, long onions, seri, and other vegetables.
It is said to have begun when leftover rice mashed and grilled for mountain work later went into a chicken pot. The dish has been handed down as an essential taste for the new-rice season and for wedding and funeral hospitality. The rice wrapped around a skewer looked like a cattail head, so it was called tanpo; cut to pot length, it became kiritanpo.
This recipe is scaled for a home pot of 4 servings and works with store-bought kiritanpo. The keys are a well-drawn stock and only a short simmer for the kiritanpo near the end.