Nabe Lunch

Sukiyaki- mmmm...delicious!

The school that Hanna goes to is an International Preschool, with a lot of kids from all over the world. Hanna has friends from Japan (100% Japanese, or 1/2 Japanese, 1/2 another nationality), Israel, Russia, the U.S., France, the UK...she has been exposed to so much and it has been such a growth experience for not only her, but myself as well. I have had the opportunity to meet and make friends with many of the moms, which allows me to learn about other countries, traditions, and most deliciously, FOOD! A few of the moms that I have gotten to know do a monthly lunch and/or cooking class- either teaching myself and a few of the other moms how to cook (like a cooking lesson- baking, sushi, etc.), or showing us how to make a particular type of Japanese food in which we get to eat. This past week, we met at my friend Nobuko's, for a traditional Nabe lunch. Nabe is a Japanese soup- the broth can be pretty much anything- chicken, tomato, etc., and it put in pots on a burner to heat up...once heated, other random food is thrown in- mostly veggies, but also meat, noodles and other good, healthy stuff. We turned our Nabe lunch into a Sukiyaki lunch. Sukiyaki is a soy based broth, that you put in a pan and heat to a boil (they do have special pans/burners for this, which our friends had- however, you can also do it in a regular sauce or soup type pan). After it is boiling, you put in veggies (most traditionally carrots, Root, Chinese cabbage, noodles, mushrooms), along with thinly sliced meat (which is sold in all grocery stores here- it is very good!). As it cooks, you get to sit around and chat and pick things out as they are cooked through. It is a continuing process, as you take things out and eat, and after you take them out, you add more! Easy and delicious! I took a bunch of the left over fresh veggies, the Sukiyaki sauce and bought some meat and made it for Scott and the girls the next night. Scott loved it, the girls, as usual, picked at it, then made their own sandwiches for dinner!


Yoyogi Moms- Yuri, Linda, Leigh, Kim and Eme