Kinoko Nabe (Hokkaido Mushroom Hot Pot) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

4 cups dashi
1 cup sake
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 lb napa cabbage, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 piece fresh ginger, sliced (1 inch)
2 red chilies, seeded sliced thinly
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 boneless pork chop, sliced thinly (optional)
1/2 lb firm tofu, cut into 4 pieces
1/2 lb dried shiitake mushroom, stemmed
1/2 lb dried oyster mushroom, trimmed pulled apart into pieces
3 1/2 ounces dried shimeji mushrooms, trimmed pulled apart into pieces
7 ounces dried enoki mushrooms, trimmed pulled apart into pieces
1/2 lb spinach, stemmed
shichimi togarashi, to taste

Preparation

Prepare the broth by combining the dashi, sake, mirin, and soy sauce in a bowl. Set aside.
In a dutch oven, add the sesame oil and bring to high heat. Add the garlic, ginger, red chilies, yellow onion and pork. Stir fry for 1 minute.
Add the cabbage and tofu to the dutch oven and pour in the broth. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes more.
Uncover the hot pot and add the shiitake mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, shimeji mushrooms, and enoki mushrooms, piling them randomly on top of the other ingredients. Cover the pot and simmer for 5 minutes more.
Uncover the pot, add the spinach, and simmer for 1 minute more.
Bring the nabe to the table and set it on a portable stove. Turn the stove heat as low as necessary to maintain a very gentle simmer.
To serve, provide each person with a small dish and have them use chopsticks or a ladle to select their own vegetables, meat, tofu, etc. Garnish with shichimi togarashi.