Chanko Nabe
Chanko Nabe
This warming, nourishing meal might be best known as sumo food, but is perfect for any chilly evening. With vegan meatballs and a veggie broth, you can add whatever vegetables you have on hand and mix-and-match per your favorite flavors. Itadakimasu!
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1 medium carrot (about ½ cup), peeled and sliced into thin ¼-inch circles
- 1 daikon radish (about ⅔ cup), peeled and sliced into thin ¼-inch circles
- 2-3 cubes Edward & Sons Not Beef bouillon cubes
For the meatballs
- 1 package Beyond Meat (or 1 lb. ground meat of choice)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, made paste through a microplane (see note)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh garlic, made paste through a microplane
- ¼ cup fresh chives, minced
- 1 cup mushrooms, minced
Toppings (pick your favorites!)
- Baby bok choy
- Nappa cabbage
- Lacinato Kale
- Cilantro
- Wildwood Savory baked tofu
- Red/orange/yellow bell peppers
- Shelled edamame
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375°. Mix meatball ingredients together until well blended. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and portion out 22 meatballs, each about 2 Tablespoons (a cookie dough scoop works great for this). Bake for 30 minutes until browned on top and very firm.
Meanwhile, add 6 cups of water to a large pot with a lid. Add the carrot, daikon, and bouillon cubes, then turn heat to medium and cover. Cut your preferred topping vegetables into bit-sized pieces and set aside.
When the meatballs are done, transfer to a cooling rack (it will help the bottoms dry out).
Add topping vegetables to the top of the pot, cover, and remove from heat. Wait 10 minutes for the toppings to warm, then serve soup topped with meatballs.
Notes
If you don’t have a microplane, mince the garlic and ginger as small as you can and crush with the back of a wooden spoon. This step is important to eliminate the fibers in the ginger.